Feds Eschew Test For Sleep Disorder Linked To Hoboken Train Crash

HOBOKEN, NJ — Federal officials have ended a push to require mandatory testing among truckers and train operators for sleep apnea, a disorder that has been linked to multiple train crashes, including the collision at Hoboken Terminal that claimed the life of 34-year-old Hoboken mother Fabiola Bittar De Kroon and injured more than 100 other passengers in September 2016.

Officials with the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have withdrawn a proposed rule that would have required testing for obstructive sleep apnea, NPR reported.

Instead, transportation agencies such as Metro-North and NJ Transit will be allowed to voluntarily conduct their own testing for sleep apnea, NBC New York stated.

Safety experts have criticized the decision, alleging that it may place millions of lives at risk, the Associated Press reported.

Sleep apnea – a chronic and ongoing condition that disrupts patients' nighttime patterns – is not rare among transportation workers, some experts say. Metro-North recently found that as many as 11.6 percent of its engineers in the New York City suburbs may suffer from the disorder, the Associated Press stated.

"Sleep apnea is a leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness,” the National Health Institute states. “[The disorder] often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can't detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, no blood test can help diagnose the condition. Most people who have sleep apnea don't know they have it because it only occurs during sleep."

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In November of 2016, an attorney for the engineer of the ill-fated NJ Transit train that crashed into the Hoboken Terminal claimed that his client’s sleep apnea disorder may have played a role in the tragedy.

• See related article: Hoboken Train Crash: Engineer Had Sleep Apnea, Attorney Says

Sleep apnea is believed to have one of the factors that contributed to a deadly train derailment in December 2013on Metro-North's Hudson Valley Line. A post-accident sleep study by the National Transportation Safety Board after that crash found that the engineer, William Rockefeller, suffered from severe sleep apnea.

Metro-North's Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines are operated by NJ Transit; Metro-North started testing its engineers for sleep apnea in 2014.

• See related article: Metro North to Test All Train Engineers for Sleep Apnea

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Photo: National Transportation Safety Board