"All prescription sleeping pills may sometimes cause sleep-driving,
federal health officials warned Wednesday, almost a year after the
bizarre side effect first made headlines when Rep. Patrick Kennedy
crashed his car after taking Ambien."

"Some of the insomnia drugs may be riskier than others, so FDA also
recommended that manufacturers conduct clinical trials to figure that
out. The drugs are: Ambien; Butisol sodium; Carbrital; Dalmane; Doral;
Halcion; Lunesta; Placidyl; Prosom; Restoril; Rozerem; Seconal; Sonata."

I had one of those zombie-like Ducklings yesterday.  I was in the right
lane doing 85 in a 100 zone and I noticed an LLB doing about the same
speed behind me.  I wanted to pass a slower car, so I started to pass
normally.  The LLB sped up and appeared to almost hit me.  It then
tailgated me at a speed of 100 until I moved back to the right.  After I
slowed down to my original speed, the LLB passed me and then slowed down
to match my speed again, after the blocked drivers had passed this
obstruction.  I slowed down to 70, but the Duckling wouldn’t budge.  As
I was approaching my exit, the Duckling pulled behind me and also turned
off at the exit.  I stopped at a red traffic signal for a right-turn and
the Duckling seemed to be trying to get around me.  It then tailgated me
as I followed the traffic through a 60 zone, and used a passing zone to
speed past me.  If it was in such a hurry, why didn’t it speed up and
move over when it was holding up traffic earlier instead of playing
Duckling?  Of course, it only got stuck behind more traffic, so I was
behind it again at another traffic signal.  It was in the leftmost
left-turn lane and I was in the second turn-lane.  The signal turned
green but the Duckling didn’t move until several cars in my lane had
passed it.  What’s wrong with these drivers?  Maybe it’s one of those
stupid pills.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_
5414127,00.html

Driver in fatal crash sentenced to 20 years
Drunk driving caused deaths of two 16-year-olds

May 13, 2006.  By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Twenty-five-year-old Gregory Ullrich was sentenced to 20 years in prison
Monday for driving while drunk and causing a crash that claimed the lives
of two 16-year-old Pomona High School students last year.

Ullrich was speeding and driving with a blood alcohol content more than
twice the legal limit on May 13, when he slammed his car into a light pole
at Wadsworth and West 92nd avenues, killing Miller and Livesay, who were
passengers in his car. He pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular
homicide.

Erin Miller, Chayce’s mother, thanked Ullrich for taking responsibility and
sparing the families from prolonged legal proceedings.

Ullrich sobbed during much of the hearing, holding his head in his hands as
photos of Miller were shown on a screen.

"I am truly sorry for what I’ve done. I can never make up for it. I’m so
sorry," he told the families.

But prosecutor Steve Jensen said Ullrich was first arrested for drunken
driving at age 16 and ignored many opportunities to rehabilitate himself.

California State Route 25 serves a dual-purpose.  Not only does it serve a
growing number of San Francisco Bay Area commuters; it also serves as a
largely agrarian environment along its southernmost reaches.  The route
provides access to a national monument en route to her southern terminus at
State Route 198.

Available today at the Worldwide Highway Library (a Calrog.com component) is
a video of State Route 25.  Join in on the ride and find out some other
interesting facts about the roadway and what it serves.  There are three
methods to see this latest addition:

(1)  Through the Library’s repository:
http://worldwide-hwys.calrog.com/repository.html#ca .  (If you haven’t seen
the popular California State Route 129 video yet, this method will allow you
to watch that video too!)
(2) Modern RSS feed.  Through a web-based subscription, you get to see this
video and all others well before the general public does:
http://worldwide-hwys.calrog.com/vwwh-rss.xml
(3)  Analog link, a.k.a "Just give it to me now" method:
http://worldwide-hwys.calrog.com/ca-25.wmv

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Carl Rogers
"Adding human experience to highway enthusiasm"
********
Calrog.com, http://www.calrog.com :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An integrated media arm in Turn-of-the-Century PC Development, International
Highway Research, and Interpersonal Psychology.  Has served your home
country and ninety-four of its worldwide neighbours since 2000, through
Internet downstream and published works.
********

http://www.examiner.com/a-620012~Firm_donated_during_traffic_bid.html

<…>

WASHINGTON – The Texas company under fire in the District for allegedly
failing to maintain traffic-enforcement cameras and parking meters
contributed thousands of dollars last year to political campaigns and
travel by D.C. leaders, at the same time negotiating new deals with the
city, an Examiner investigation found.

Affiliated Computer Services laid out more than $20,000 in 2006,
including a $10,600 contribution to last summer.s privately underwritten
trade mission to Africa organized by then-Mayor Anthony Williams.

City officials deny they were influenced by the money. But government
watchdogs aren.t convinced.

<…>

———————————-

I’m just wacky thinking that these payments had any effect on the city’s
elected offfice holders… ACS probably was just being friendly,
expecting nothing in return. It’s just my paranoia that makes me think
they were buying influence…. *snort*  ACS only made millions of dollars
from this… what’s a few grand kicked back to its friends in government?

E.P.

It seems that some environmentalists want to force everyone to drive
slower to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption.  What
they seem to be missing is that if everyone drives slower, it will
reduce throughput, cause traffic congestion, and require that people
spend more time in the car.  I average a speed between 110 and 170 on
most drives, because it’s efficient and it keeps up with the traffic,
not because some legislation suggested it.  Traffic speed restrictions
should be about safety, not environmental issues.  Economics, not
legislation, is the proper regulator.  Petrol is expensive enough, and
if some people want to drive at inefficient speeds for their particular
cars, they can pay for it when they refuel.

By a vote 73 to 23 a bill that would ban text messaging while drivin
passed the Wa state House of Representatives.  It stil has to It now
goes to the Senate for consideration.  Joyce McDonald, R.
representative cited a Puget Sound crase in December involving three
cars and aa buse.  Cause?  A 53-year-old lman sending a message on the
BlakBerry.

Just what we need.  Another law cluttering up the books that can’t be
enforced cluttering up the books .  Don’t get me wrong.  I am all for
banning any use of a CP while driving but how is it possible to
enforce something that can’t be seen from outside the car?

Harry K

http://www.680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070311_113030…

Snowmobile accident kills two, one a Durham police officer
<…>
Police said Hearn was standing on the ice, using a radar gun to clock the
speed of White’s snowmobile.

The test took a tragic turn before 9 p.m. when the snowmobile, driven by
White, collided with Hearn on the ice, killing both men at the scene.

One unconfirmed news report said White was driving the snowmobile at
speeds up to 210 km/h at the time of the accident.
<…>

"Elderly man accidentally steps on accelerator instead of brake as his
wife is opening the garage door for him, inadvertently executing a
flawless Jersey Divorce"

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2597078&vers…

<…>

East Meadow, Long Island  –  A 91-year-old Long Island man accidentally
hit the gas instead of the brake and ran over his wife as she was opening
the garage door for him.

<…>