UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, December 8,1994
11A
Sleep drivers cause many accidents
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Drowsy drivers may cause as many accidents as drunken drivers — 30 percent of fatal crashes in one study — and at least one American in every 20 has caused an accident by nodding off at the wheel, sleen researchers say.
Don't blame boring highways and long drives for drowning and driving, said Thomas Roth, a researcher at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Instead, he said yesterday, blame a stubborn unwillingness to submit to slumber and a hyperactive American lifestyle with inadequate time for sleep.
Research presented at a conference on the problem of drowsy drivers showed that more than a third of all fatal accidents in some locations
could be attributed to sleepy drivers.
Allan I. Pack of the National Institutes of Health said at least 14 states didn't even include drowsiness as a probable cause on accident reports. But specific studies paint a grim picture.
Pack said a New York state study showed that sleepiness was a factor in 82 percent of accidents in which the vehicle left the roadway. Up to 50 percent of all truck drivers admitted in a survey that they had fallen asleep at the wheel at some point. In another survey, 20 percent of U.S. drivers admitted they had fallen asleep at some time while driving; a New York study put the rate at 25 percent.
In Australia, a nation with great highway distances, a detailed study of accidents showed that 30 percent of fatal vehicle crashes on rural highways were caused by drivers who fell asleep, he said.
There are 1.3 million single-vehicle crashes each year in the United States, said Pack, and more than a fifth occur between midnight and 6 a.m., when sleepy drivers are most common. In two-thirds of the accidents, the driver made no attempt to brake or steer back onto the road, indicating the driver was drowsy.
"At least one in 20 drivers in our society have had such accidents," Pack said. "These accidents have a high fatality rate, similar to those attributed to alcohol."
People who must work through the night and young people who habitually scrimp on sleep are the groups at highest risk of sleep accidents.
But a large percentage of Americans habitually go into a sleep debt by
slumbering only four to five hours nightly. This directly affects reflexes, judgment and wakefulness.
"Five hours of sleep in one night is not too bad, but five nights of five hours of sleep is profoundly bad," Pack said.
Larry J. Findley, who conducted sleep research at the University of Virginia, said about 8 percent of all Americans have excessive drowsiness, usually due to sleep deprivation. Another 10 percent have a disorder that robs them of restful sleep.
All this creates driving risks that are more pervasive and common than alcoholism, diabetes or seizure disorders, he said.
What to do if you get sleepy at the wheel? Caffeine is not the solution, the experts say; instead, pull over and sleep.
Judge orders new trial for convicted cop killer
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — In a scathing ruling accusing police and prosecutors of being merchants of chaos, a federal judge has ordered a new trial for a Mexican sentenced to die for killing a police officer in 1982.
Supporters of Ricardo Aldape Guerra insist he is the victim of angry police out for revenge and anti-illegal immigration sentiment.
Prosecutors stand by the evidence and theorized that Aldape Guerra shot the officer and switched guns with an accomplice, Roberto Carrasco Flores, who was later killed by police.
U. S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt
ruled last month that Aldape Guerra didn't get a fair trial and deserved a new one. The state attorney general is deciding whether to appeal the ruling.
Hoyt attacked police and prosecutors who worked on the case, saying their actions were done in bad faith and were outrageous.
Authorities" "misconduct was designed and calculated to obtain a conviction and another 'notch in their guns' despite the overwhelming evidence that Carrasco was the killer and the lack of evidence pointing to Guerra," Hoyt wrote Nov. 14 after listening to testimony at a hearing a year ago.
County district attorney and Richard Bax, one of the prosecutors in the case, rejected the judge's accusations.
Patrolman James Harris was slain the night of July 13, 1982, after he stopped his cruiser near a stalled car. As Carrasco and Aldape Guerra approached from the car, one shot Harris in the head with a 9mm gun. Both fled into the mostly Hispanic neighborhood.
The city's police chief, the Harris
Less than two hours later, Carrasco was killed in a shootout with police. The gun used to kill Harris was found next to him, and the officer's revolver was in Carrasco's pants. Aldape Guerra was discovered hiding nearby with a 45-caliber gun wrapped in a
Bax said the physical evidence pointed to Carrasco, but several witnesses identified Aldape Guerra as the gunman. At the trial, five witnesses identified Aldape Guerra as the shooter.
bandanna. He's been behind bars ever since and on death row since December 1982.
Prosecutors proposed a theory to jurors that Carrasco and Aldape Guerra accidentally switched guns in the car. Yet Aldape Guerra's fingerprints were not on the murder weapon, which belonged to Carrasco.
Hoyt said the theory was speculation and no evidence was provided to support it.
American welfare system seen as wasteful, study shows
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Most Americans believe people on welfare collect more than they actually do and think the poverty line should be higher than it is, a survey indicates. People seem to see welfare payments as "pouring water into a leaky bucket" but they want to fix the bucket rather than stop pouring, says the survey's sponsor.
The study, conducted for an upcoming PBS television documentary on American poverty programs by the independent Center for the Study of Policy Attitudes, found that 84 percent agreed that society has a moral obligation to help the poor, and that 80 percent thought government should do something about poverty.
The study found wide chasms between the way people view federal anti-poverty programs of the 1960s War on Poverty, and what they think should be done about them.
For example, 75 percent said they feel government programs are rife with waste and do little to help poor people, but only 10 percent wanted to eliminate welfare.
Eighty-five percent supported replacing welfare with programs that create jobs for poor parents who want work but can't get it.
"The they do perceive that there's a high level of waste in poverty programs. Even with that, they still don't want to decrease spending," said Steven Kull,
director of the center, which conducted the study for the producers of "America's War On Poverty," which will be broadcast Jan. 16-18.
But Kull, a faculty member at the University of Maryland, cautioned that the survey results did not mean there is wide public enthusiasm for anti-poverty programs. "There's a good deal of frustration. But they think it's morally wrong to just pull the plug," he said.
The bankruptcy filing by Orange County, Calif., confused thousands of investors who bought what they thought were safe bonds from the affluent county.
Orange County bankruptcy investors baffled by losses
What is the impact beyond Orange County's borders?
Q: How could this happen in Orange County, one of the richest areas in the country?
A: The county runs a large investment fund, where it puts taxpayer money and its own borrowings to work in the financial markets. Many other counties, cities and states do the same. Last week, Orange County disclosed the fund suffered a $1.5 billion loss in value due to sharply rising interest rates.
As a result, Wall Street investment banks declined to renew $1.2 billion in loans the fund had used in its investment strategies, forcing the county to seek bankruptcy court protection Tuesday.
Q: What are municipal bonds?
How does this crisis affect them?
a: The municipal bond market is one of the most basic parts of the American investment landscape and a critical way for local governments to raise money. More than 50,000 state and local government
agencies have issued $1.3 trillion in municipal bonds to investors, with the proceeds used to build airports, schools and sewage systems. About 75 percent of all muni bonds are held by individual investors because they are tax-exempt.
The crisis could possibly lead to defaults in some of the muni bonds issued by Orange County or related agencies, which would make those bonds plunge in value and roll the muni bond market, making it harder for issuers to sell bonds. But many experts don't believe there will be defaults. So far, the scale of the Orange County crisis has mildly depressed prices in the stock and bond markets.
Q: Is there a danger of default for muni bonds issued by agencies involved in the Orange County investment fund?
A: The situation is unclear, but defaults are unlikely based on past experience. Muni bond experts say individual investors should sit tight until better information surfaces.
AMBAC Indemnity Corp, a major bond issuer, said yesterday it had sufficient resources to cover any defaults.
Two security guards slain in boat theft
The Associated Press
LAKE OZARK, Mo. — Two security guards waiting for backup after stopping two teen-agers suspected of trying to steal a boat were shot and killed yesterday.
The teen-agers, ages 13 and 17, fled in the stolen boat, Missouri State Highway Patrolsaid.
The victims, a sheriff's reserve officer and an off-duty police officer who were moonlighting as security guards at the Lodge of the Four Seasons resort, came upon two boys they thought were trying to steal a boat, said Capt. Clarence Greeno of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The officers took the boys into custody, then called for assistance, Greeno said.
When the backup arrived, one officer was found dead in a fishing boat at a dock, said Col. Larry Whitten of the Missouri State Water Patrol.
The body of the second officer was pulled by divers from the water, Whiten said. Both men had been shot in the head, he said. Their names were not released.
The teen-agers fled in the stolen powerboat, then fled on foot after running it around. police said.
By nightfall, dozens of police using helicopters and search dogs were searching for the teens.
"We feel they'are holed up in a house at this point and might wait to make a run for it until after darkness," Whitten said.
A car that had been stolen Tuesday in Jefferson City was found at a lake residence where a boat was stolen yesterday, he said.