A medical clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, is trying to change the way truck drivers receive medical care and stay awake at the wheel.

Instead of forcing drivers to take time off road to arrange appointments at clinics, Roadside Medical Clinic +Lab has built clinics adjacent to more than 80 truck stopping areas, linking them electronically through the use of truck driver ID swipe cards.

The initiative follows to a study by the American Trucking Associations, which shows nearly 1.1 million commercial truck drivers are affected by sleep apnoea.

The move has been welcomed by industry experts, with the vice chair of the American Transportation Association Wellness Council, Bob Perry, saying it’s important that medical facilities are available where truck drivers are; because for drivers, time is money.

Since beginning the program, Roadside has discovered that a large percentage of truck drivers are in critical stages of obesity and have extremely high levels of blood pressure and cholesterol.

After studying about 2,000 drivers, Roadside found that these conditions have a direct correlation to the amount of sleep drivers get.

Along with the medical care and sleep testing, Roadside is also promoting driver health through the use of supplements, food guides and workout products.