MTA To Test All Conductors For Sleep Apnea

NEW YORK, NY — Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials are expected to give the green light to a program Wednesday that would mandate sleep apnea testing for each one of the nearly 20,000 drivers, conductors and engineers who maneuver the MTA system's massive fleet of trains, buses and subway cars.

The program would cost up to $7.5 million over 5 years, according to the MTA.

People with sleep apnea have trouble breathing while they sleep due to repeated contractions of their throat muscles, blocking their windpipes.

Because of this battle to breathe during the night, they often have trouble staying alert — and may even fall asleep involuntarily — during the day.

The MTA is claiming to be "the first public transportation agency to systematically screen employees for obstructive sleep apnea and offer priority, specialized treatment."

It also may be the only such agency currently facing three federal investigations into three recent crashes that all appear to have been caused, at least in part, by excessive driver sleepiness.

On Jan. 4, a Long Island Rail Road train derailed at the Atlantic Terminal station in Downtown Brooklyn, leaving more than 100 people with (non-life-threatening) injuries. The train's conductor later told federal investigators he didn't "recall" what happened during the crash.

The train was going 10 mph at the time of the crash — more than double the 5 mph speed limit inside the station, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Federal investigators could not confirm to Patch on Monday whether or not the LIRR driver who crashed in Brooklyn had officially been diagnosed with sleep apnea. "It's still an ongoing investigation — we're still in the fact-gathering phase," a spokesman for the safety board said.

If he does suffer from the condition, though, he wouldn't be alone: Both the Metro-North train engineer who fell asleep behind the wheel in the Bronx three year back, killing four and injuring dozens, and New Jersey Transit train engineer that smashed into Hoboken Terminal last fall, killing one, were diagnosed with sleep apnea, according to the New York Post.

Photo courtesy of the FDNY