*****************************************************************
Safety
Belt use up this
year for
Commercial Drivers
Barb
Kampbell - The Trucker
WASHINGTON — Efforts by the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) encouraging truck drivers
to buckle up are helping. Recent results show 59 percent of class 7
and 8 drivers were wearing safety belts this year, up from 54 percent
in 2005.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations require CMV drivers to wear safety belts.
For truckers recognized as driving for
national or regional fleets, the usage rate increased to 75 percent in
2006, up from 63 percent in 2005. Independent drivers’ buckled-up
rated increased in 2006 to 44 percent compared with 41 percent in
2005.
FMCSA is continuing its campaign called
“Be Ready, Be Buckled” for truck drivers. In information distributed
by FMCSA some interesting facts were shown:
• In
2004, 634 drivers of large trucks died in truck crashes and 303 of
those drivers were not wearing safety belts. Of the 168 drivers killed
who were ejected from their vehicles, almost 75 percent were not
wearing safety belts.
• Fifty-one
percent of truck-occupant fatalities in large trucks involve a
rollover. Rollovers increase the likelihood of fatality by 30 times.
In a rollover, a truck driver is 80 percent less likely to die when
wearing a safety belt.
• About 27,000 large truck occupants
suffered nonfatal injures in crashes; of those, 4,000 were seriously
injured, and 67 percent of truck drivers killed who were not wearing a
safety belt, were involved in single-vehicle crashes.
BE SAFE - BE
BUCKLED!
*****************************************************************
For Your Health
Is it Heart Burn or
Something Else?
wd
Health
If you pop antacids like M & M's, it's time
to stop self treating and get to a doctor. You could have
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition that, over time,
can increase your risk for esophageal cancer. Regular screening ups
the likelihood that cancer is detected quickly, but OTC antacids are
keeping some at-risk individuals from getting tested.
Taking antacids reduces acid in the
stomach, but it doesn't stop acid reflux from occurring, according to
Lawrence Brandt, M.D., chief of gastroenterology at Montefiore Medical
Center in New York City. The result: you feel less pain, and the
damage continues.
To determine whether you have GERD or the
beginnings of esophageal cancer, your doctor will perform an endoscopy
and may remove tissue for biopsy. Routine screening for all adults
isn't necessary, but see your doctor if your are overweight, smoke,
drink heavily, have a family history of gastric cancer - or if
heartburn sends your to the medicine cabinet more than once or twice a
week.
DID YOU KNOW?
Fatigue vs. Alcohol
Impairment
2000 Australian
Transport Safety Bureau
• 18 hours of sustained wakefulness
= BAC .05
• 22 hours of sustained wakefulness
= BAC .10
Use your opportunities to rest wisely -
many people are depending on you!
**********
***************************
For the month of
October fuel purchased at the terminal was
34.9%.
Be mindful that
there is a $.21 p/gal difference between a TA and our own fuel
tanks. Plan you fuel purchases such that you can get as much in
Mounds View or at the Pilot in Oak Creek as possible.
********************************************************