According to a study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2001, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects up to 28% of commercial vehicle drivers. Today, it’s estimated that more than 18 million American adults are afflicted with the condition.
To generate greater awareness and understanding of OSA within the Canadian trucking industry, Northbridge Insurance hosted a half-day symposium bringing together experts from the medical, regulatory, legal, insurance and trucking fields to discuss its impact and solutions.
Interested in learning more? View the full conference.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?
OSA is a sleep disorder in which breathing is interrupted during sleep. The apnea refers to a breathing pause that lasts at least 10 seconds, caused by muscles in the back of the throat failing to keep the airway open during sleep.
This regular interruption of sleep causes low blood oxygen levels and fragmented sleep. It can also lead to numerous other issues such as hypertension, heart disease and drowsiness.
While OSA can create a number of health problems for the average person, for a truck driver the effects can be even more life threatening—especially when you’re driving a 40-ton missile down a highway suffering from drowsiness and your natural reaction time is significantly reduced.
More information about OSA here.
Meet the experts
Risk Services Specialist, Northbridge Insurance

In his role, Dave meets and trains drivers, leveraging his years of expertise in the industry and takes the opportunity to learn and share experiences with those he instructs.
Dave noticed he had all the signs of OSA and upon testing was diagnosed with moderate to severe sleep apnea.
PhD, PEng, CEng, FCAHS

Dr. Fernie is the current CEO of BresoTec Inc. (previously IdaptSomno Inc.) which developed BresoDx (previously named ApneaDx), the only cordless sleep apnea diagnostics in the world that is accurate and portable. He is also involved in initiating Canada’s unprecedented truckers’ research trial to diagnose sleep apnea. He hopes to find out, objectively, the prevalence of sleep apnea in the Canadian trucking industry and raise awareness of the issue within the industry.
MD, PhD

His most recent invention is BresoDx (previously named ApneaDx), a portable device for home diagnosis of sleep apnea. This product was one of the first to be selected by a government sponsored program (EXCITE) that enables the best health technologies to get to market faster for improved health outcomes. Besides his many scholarly publications, he is the main inventor on five patent families.
Dr Alshaer obtained his PhD degree from the University of Toronto in biomedical engineering. He has more than four years of postdoc research experience at the Ottawa Heart Institute and The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. He holds an MD from Marmara University and MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Director, FMCSA Office of Policy, Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety Standards

In 2007 Chuck assumed his current position as Director, Office Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle Safety Standards. As the Director, he is responsible for providing national executive leadership for development of standards and regulatory programs for the safe operation of commercial motor carriers, vehicles and drivers. Chuck is a key member of the Agency’s leadership team establishing broad policies, priorities, and overall resource allocations.
Partner, Fernandes Hearn LLP

Rui has been identified by Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide as one of the Leading 500 Transportation Lawyers in Canada and was recently announced as Transportation Lawyer of the Year for his region by Best Lawyers 2014.
SVP, Claims, National Litigation and Technical Management, Northbridge

During his time, Peter has managed a large portfolio of transportation industry claims and represented the insurance industry on a number of panels and committees.
CEO, Kriska Transportation

Kriska’s fleet consists of more than 400 power units and 1200 trailers across North America. Operating from their head office in Prescott, Ontario, with remote terminals in Mississauga and Sarnia, Ontario, Kriska employs over 500 people and has annual sales in excess of $75M. For the last nine years Kriska has been recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, one of North America’s safest fleets and one of Canada’s highest ranked service providers in the truckload sector.
Publisher and Editorial Director, Transportation Media
