Public Safety
The Public Safety Committee identifies safety risks related to sleep, fatigue and circadian misalignment and develops strategies to advocate for and promote improved regulatory oversight, awareness, alertness, and overall safety.
Access resources created by the Public Safety Committee including FAQs on fatigue and sleep in commercial operators, comments on federal regulation, guidance for the Philips recall, information on daylight saving time and more. Share these with your colleagues, legislators, federal and state agencies, and other transportation stakeholders.
COVID-19
The Public Safety Committee along with the AASM COVID-19 Task Force have worked since the beginning of the pandemic to keep members up-to-date with the latest news, provide guidance, and create and curate supportive and informative resources.
- AASM COVID-19 resources
- Youth, mental health and sleep (5/27/2022; in response to the Surgeon General’s advisory on youth mental health crisis further exposed by COVID-19 pandemic)
- Comment on “Research brief: COVID-19 and pediatric ingestions” (8/23/2021)
- Child and teen sleep and pandemic-era school (4/1/2021)
Daylight saving time
The committee’s work on daylight saving time led to the publication of the AASM position statement, two episodes of the Talking Sleep podcast, and the AASM daylight saving time policy webinar. The AASM advocates for permanent standard time and opposes the Sunshine Protection Act.
Fatigue and sleep in commercial operators
Commercial operators who are fatigued or have undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders pose a distinct threat to public safety. The committee has created extensive resources to raise awareness of these issues and to support health care providers in their management of fatigue and sleep disorders in commercial operators.
- Frequently Asked Questions: Sleep Disorders, Fatigue and Professional Operators
- Obstructive sleep apnea screening, diagnosis, and treatment in the transportation industry (9/23/21)
- Enhancing public health and safety by diagnosing and treating obstructive sleep apnea in the transportation industry: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement (9/21/21)
- Industrial regulation of fatigue: Lessons learned from aviation (4/15/2019)
- Transportation warning: Government shutdowns rattle air travel safety (2/13/2019)
- Withdrawal of advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on OSA (8/1/2018)
- Management of obstructive sleep apnea in commercial motor vehicle operators (5/15/2017)
- Sleep apnea evaluation of commercial motor vehicle operators (3/15/2016)
Federal regulations
The Public Safety Committee provided the AASM response to several federal regulations.
- FRA: Train Crew Size Safety Requirements | Comment from AASM (9/5/22)
- Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements | Comment from AASM (12/10/21)
- Interventions to Prevent Work-Related Stress and Support Health Worker Mental Health; Request for Information | Comment from AASM (11/23/21)
- Pilot Program To Allow Commercial Drivers To Pause Their 14-Hour Driving Window | Comment from AASM (10/31/2020)
- Reducing Fatigue Among Taxi Drivers | Comment from AASM (9/17/2020)
- Large Truck Crash Causal Factors Study | Comment from AASM (3/15/2020)
- Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements | Comment from AASM (11/12/2019)
- Hours of Service of Drivers | Comment from AASM (10/21/2019)
- FRA Proposed Agency Information Collection | Comment from AASM (6/4/2019)
- DOT Review of Guidance | Comment from AASM (5/7/2019)
- Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications: Narcolepsy | Comment from AASM (12/22/2018)
- Hours of Service of Drivers | Comment from AASM (10/8/2018)
Philips recall
The Public Safety Committee was instrumental in shaping the AASM guidance for members in response to the Philips recall of PAP devices.
Physician burnout
Many factors contribute to physician burnout, including sleep deprivation. Prioritizing sleep is one measure health care providers can use to combat burnout. To bring attention to this important issue, the committee created a shareable tip sheet and authored an AASM position statement.
- Tip Sheet for health care providers: prioritizing sleep and managing fatigue (7/2021)
- Sleep, fatigue and burnout among physicians: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement (5/15/2020)
- What is the role of sleep in physician burnout? (5/15/2020)