runawaytrain
Wear their scorn with pride.
- Credits
- 10
That’s the way it should be but it’s not at SAIA. SAIA contracts with Fusion Health and their doctors flag anyone overweight. You use their doctors if you want a DOT physical card. Fusion Health has their own sleep apnea program called Sleep Charge and it’s a rigged system to get more drivers in their program. IMO! It’s ran by a Doctor that’s specialized in sleep apnea. The only good thing is SAIA pays for everything including the CPAP machine and all the supplies associated it. New hoses...water reservoir...filters...everything is free and that could be very expensive if you had to pay for it yourself. But if you’re not overweight and your neck is within range you won’t be forced into it. It’s still not right and I was forced onto one because I’m a bit overweight. Had I been allowed to use my own doctor for my physical he would have passed me. So in some ways you’re right. It’s a scam. I will say I hated the CPAP machine but in all honesty if you actually have sleep apnea you really wake up more refreshed so I’ve been told. I personally couldn’t tell the difference but then I’m a city driver and sleep nights. In linehaul it’s more of an issue. You can’t be falling asleep behind the wheel. Sleep apnea really is a serious health issue and if you do have it you do need to be treated. This is my problem with it. I didn’t feel like I had sleep apnea but the doctor said I did just because of my weight. I’ve never snored and my wife says I never woke up in the middle of the night trying to catch my breath. So WTF! Who are they to tell me? Not everyone that’s a little overweight has sleep apnea. We had many drivers quit because they didn’t want a sleep apnea diagnosis on their DOT record. You only qualify for one year when you’re on one. I completely understand why many quit. I just played their stupid game because I knew I was close to retirement and wanted to ride the gravy train out. But then came DriveCam and that’s what pushed me into early retirement. I have no regrets going at 63 ... I wish I’d went at 62. Knowing what I know now I would have. I’m financially secure and debt free because of smart planning so I really didn’t need to keep working. I guess I just wanted to keep adding eggs to the basket. But I’d finally just had enough BS.No you wont all my Dr. asks if I get tired while driving I say no and get a 2yr card its the biggest scam out there Trump got rid of that crap.
Last edited: