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Exhausted students will be driving home soon, sleep-deprived and burnt out from finals and nonstop studying. They will be as dangerous behind the wheel as if they had been drunk. Let's remind parents to remind their kids to get some sleep before they drive.
 

It would be a good time to show the effects of sleep deprivation on driving ability. Here is a story from Texas Tech's The Daily Toreador. 

According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 56,000 police-reported crashes are caused by drowsy driving annually. Two-thirds of drowsy-driving crashes involve people under the age of 30, according to one administration report.

Just as there is a group that fights drunk drivers, there is also a group called Victims of Irresponsible Drowsy Drivers. Here is that group's Web site.

The site includes these passages:

• "When you're sleepy, your brain starts to shut down... But even before you actually nod off, performance slips." Trying harder to stay awake may not help. Your thinking slows, you miss signals and risk-taking behavior increases. At 60 mph, if you close your eyes for only one second, you've traveled 88 feet. Even worse, sleepy drivers judgment is impaired, says Dr. Mark Rosekind, a [former] fatigue specialist at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
  

• "Even if you don't fall asleep, when you drive drowsy you drive impaired... Your reaction time is slowed, your perception is distorted and you don't stay in the lane as easily," says Dr. David F. Dinges, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
  

• "Sleep deprivation is one of the major under-recognized killers in our society. In the contest between the will to stay awake and the need to sleep, sleep will always win. Too often, the driver ends up wrapped around a telephone pole... Sleep deprivation increases the effect of alcohol." Daniel A. Katz, M.D. Department of Neurology, Menninger Clinic, [formerly of] Topeka, Kan.
  

Here is more from the National Safety Council.

The Hazards of Tuna

The Chicago Tribune says the tuna industry has failed to warn consumers about the true hazards of eating tuna. But the industry says that the reports of high mercury levels in tuna are overblown and that nobody is at risk. 

The Tribune reports that even canned "light tuna," which the Food & Drug Administration recommended as a low-mercury and healthy fish, often has enough mercury in it to be classified as a high-mercury product. The story says:

Among those calling for improved warnings about mercury in tuna is the American Medical Association, which adopted a policy last year that physicians should help make their patients more aware of the potential risks.

The group also urged the FDA to consider "requiring that fish consumption advisories and results related to mercury testing be posted where fish, including canned tuna, are sold."

Mapping Contributions

Here is an extremely cool way to see who, in any ZIP code, contributes to federal election campaigns. Just insert a ZIP code. The source of the base data comes from Fundrace.org, but this site makes it so visually interesting. 

Oil for $50 a Barrel: Get Used to It

If you believe long-term forecasts, those days of $30-per-barrel oil are over. The Energy Department said this week that you can gird yourself for oil that's priced at least at $50 per barrel for years to come.

Not Even Sodas Are Free on Some Flights

This might just push me over the edge. Next month, American Eagle is going to start charging passengers a dollar for a can of soda on its flights. It may also start to charge for pillows and blankets.

Box-Office Busts

Despite the Golden Globes hype this week, nothing seems to be able to save Hollywood. The Christmas movie season will close the worst year for theatre ticket sales in 15 years.  

Surf Board Panic

The manufacturer of 90 percent of the country's foam cores used for the construction of surf boards wiped out under what it said were environmental regulations and workers'-compensation claims. Board prices are already rising.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported:

Few things are essential to surfers, but a polyurethane board is certainly one of them. And now that is threatened, many surfers fear, with the news this week that the manufacturer of foam blanks used to fashion 90 percent of the nation's boards has gone belly-up.

The story added:

Surfers and surf-shop owners fear that the move will create a months-long shortage of foam, will force many custom surfboard manufacturers out of business and will lead to a shortage of boards at retail outlets.

Users say epoxy boards may be the next big thing.

Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible.