Sleep apnea, fatigue and a poor traffic management plan combined to cause a fatal 2016 collision between a motorcoach and tractor-trailer truck near Palm Springs, California, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The driver of the motorcoach and 12 motorcoach passengers were killed on October 23, 2016 when the speeding motorcoach crashed into a stopped truck on Interstate 10 in the early-morning darkness.

During an event Monday morning, Deborah A.P Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, and Charles A Czeisler, PhD, FRCP, director of the Sleep Matters Initiative at Brigham Health, explained the NSC’s new Fatigue Cost Calculator for Employers — an online tool that provides companies with a snapshot of not only their losses, but also their return on investment if they implement employee sleep health education programs that screen for untreated sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia.

The engineer who fell asleep on the job, just before his train derailed in the Bronx, killing four people, is suing his former employer for $10 million dollars. More than 70 people were injured in the 2013 crash of a Metro-North train.

Untreated or inadequately treated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) results in job performance deficiencies such as excessive sleepiness, cognitive dysfunction, longer reaction times, irritability and reduced vitality.

Treating a common sleep disorder doesn’t just improve sleep; it also has a beneficial affect while the sleeper is awake – in the workplace. In a new study, patients who underwent three months of treatment for sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, reported significant improvements in their daytime sleepiness levels and work productivity.