MOT Mulling Sleep Apnea Monitoring on the Road

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is looking into the use of digital monitoring systems to detect driver fatigue and health conditions, especially sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. 

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said the ministry has been holding discussions with industry operators, innovators and logistics companies, particularly those involved in heavy and light transport.

He explained that the idea of a digital driver health monitoring system had been raised before but was put aside due to cost concerns, as each check could run into hundreds of ringgit. With a new memorandum of agreement (MoA) now in place, the ministry intends to review the matter more thoroughly.

Hasbi was responding to a question in Dewan Negara from Senator Datuk Koh Nai Kwong, who asked whether the government was considering wearable devices or digital monitoring systems to track fatigue and health levels among public service vehicle drivers.

In May, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) and Alpha International Training and Consultancy signed an MoA to work on training programmes focused on road safety. 

One of these is the Sleep Management and Rehabilitation Certification Programme, designed to tackle issues of sleep deprivation, raise awareness and provide commercial drivers and operators with tools to better manage fatigue.

Hasbi added that the ministry is also looking at more advanced innovations, such as steering wheel-based driver identity recognition systems that can measure health indicators like heart rate as soon as a driver grips the wheel. Such technology, he said, could prevent unhealthy drivers from starting their journey.

Source: BERNAMA