Tuesday August 28, 2001
Cops Going After Distracted Drivers
Beginning this week, cops are going after distracted drivers. The Pioneer Press reports: “Mascara, music, a mug of coffee — these are some of the things that drive motorists to distraction. In fact, Minnesota authorities say “distracted driving” is one of the leading causes of crashes in the state, and that’s what drove them to launch an upcoming campaign to let motorists know this: Applying makeup and your foot to the accelerator is not acceptable. “We deal with distracted driving every day, and what I mean by that is we deal with the aftermath of it,” said Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson, an administrator of federal projects.
Beginning this week, motorists will see more law enforcement officers on the road, thanks to some federal dollars for overtime, and 43 billboards across Minnesota emblazoned with any number of messages, including, “STOP FIDDLING WITH THE RADIO. CONCENTRATE ON DRIVING.”
Officials want drivers to know that driver distraction was responsible for 16,000 crashes last year in Minnesota, 15 percent of the 104,000 total crashes. Nationally, there were an estimated 6.3 million traffic crashes in 1999, the most recent figures available, and 25 percent were tied to inattentive driving, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Drowsy Drivers
We have all covered the issue of drunk drivers but how about the issue of “driving while drowsy.”
In recent years there have been about 56,000 crashes annually in which driver drowsiness/fatigue was cited by police. Annual averages of roughly 40,000 nonfatal injuries and 1,550 fatalities result from these crashes. It is widely recognized that these statistics underreport the extent of these types of crashes. These statistics also do not deal with crashes caused by driver inattention, which is believed to be a larger problem.
The best strategy to cope with fatigue while on the road is simply to pull over in a safe place and take a short nap. However, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2000 poll, only 22 percent of drivers report doing that. The majority, some 63 percent, look to caffeine for relief from fatigue, but stimulants like caffeine are no substitute for sleep. While drinking a cup of coffee or a can of soda may help you feel more alert, the effects are temporary. In fact, even if you drink coffee, if you are seriously sleep-deprived, you may experience “micro-sleeps” — brief naps that last only four or five seconds. At 55 miles an hour, you can travel more than 100 yards while you’re taking that five-second nap.”
See this study by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Young men, ages 16 to 29 are the most likely to be involved in these crashes. One study in North Carolina said young men were involved in 75 percent of all fatigue crashes.
Shift workers are also are involved in a lot of these crashes. Night shift workers typically get 1.5 fewer hours of sleep per day than day workers. The midnight to 8 a.m. shift carries the greatest risk of sleep disruption because it requires workers to contradict circadian patterns in order to sleep during the day. What do factories do to educate workers about this issue?
Here are some solutions.
State Investigates Cemetery Conditions
The Kentucky legislature has taken up an issue that I bet will have a good bit of public interest and would be a good topic for you to look at in your state.
The Courier-Journal reports: “Acknowledging that a statewide cemetery task force ”bit off quite a bit to chew” when it began investigating Kentucky’s 7,000 to 8,000 cemeteries, state Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, said yesterday, ”This puppy has truly grown into a big dog.”
The main issues are accessibility of abandoned family sites, grave desecration, bad burial practices, enforcement of regulations, lack of funds for maintenance and missing burial records, according to a progress report issued at the second meeting of the Task Force on the Preservation of Kentucky Cemeteries.