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Being sleepy behind the wheel is almost as bad as drinking and driving, suggests a new study from France. The study, published as a letter in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that drivers who were either drunk or sleepy were at least twice as likely to be responsible for a vehicle accident compared to their well-rested or sober counterparts. Dr Christopher Drake, an associate scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit, said the findings do not change what was already known, but the study is still "interesting". "We know from experimental studies that just four hours of sleep loss will produce as much impairment as a six pack. If you have a whole night of sleep loss, that's equivalent to having a blood alcohol content of 0.19," Dr Drake, who was not involved with the new research, told Reuters Health. Under the direction of Dr Nicholas Moore at the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux in France, researchers analysed information from 679 drivers who were admitted to a hospital in southwest France for more than 24 hours because of a serious accident between 2007 and 2009. The researchers used information from driver questionnaires and police reports to determine what may have contributed to the accidents. Drivers reported what medications they were on, their alcohol use and how sleepy they had been before the crash. Patient files provided information on blood alcohol levels. The majority of the injured drivers were under 55 years old and men. Over half were on a motorcycle, about one-third of the drivers were in a car and 10 per cent were peddling a bicycle at the time of the accident. The police determined 355 of the drivers were responsible for their respective crash. From that, Moore and his colleagues found that being between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, driving a car, drinking alcohol and being sleepy were all tied to an increased risk of causing an accident. Surprisingly, taking medications that carry warnings about affecting a driver's abilities - one of the researchers' main focuses - was tied to a lower risk of causing an accident. Dr Moore told Reuters Health that may be because people taking those medications are more aware of their side effects. "Medicinal drugs might be an issue to keep an eye on and warn people about, but it's not the main issue," he said. One way for people to reduce their accident risk is to take a nap before they hit the road, according to Dr Moore. "Don't hesitate if you're tired to take a short nap or drink a few cups of coffee. And if you drink coffee, it will take some time to take effect," he said. Dr Drake added, however, that coffee's effectiveness can wear off over time. "Anytime you're feeling sleepy behind the wheel is a danger sign," he said. The standard techniques of turning on the air conditioner or blasting the radio only mask the signs of sleepiness - they don't make it go away. "They're good to get you to the next exit, but it's not going to get you home," Dr Drake said. There are some laws in the United States to punish sleepy drivers, but Dr Drake told Reuters Health they are hard to enforce unless someone gets into an accident. "It's very difficult. There is no breathalyser for sleepiness," he said. The study did have some limitations. Some of the questions are based on the patients' own reports, which may be subjective. Also, there is no way to know how many accidents sleepiness actually caused. Overall, Dr Moore said the best advice is, "don't drink and please sleep". "There is no substitute for sleep," said Dr Drake. Source: http://www.todayonline.com/Focus/Health/ED...angerous--Study & http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/T...ory_805380.html

Just need someone to lend me his/her ears.. pretty hard pain to see my car got scratches.. After work when i passed by joo chiat road, a fight happened. i was stuck on the tracffic light, a police car with 4 police man in front of me. So the fight conitnues and approaching to my car.. Chairs started to fly, hit my car a few times, they throw puches and kicks and somehow land on my car. Guess wat? i high beam the police car in front and they saw the fight, they didn't get down. so i follow the police car back to the station ( a few meters away) and asked them why? 1 of the policeman said "call to get help". Isn't police a help?? 3 of them is fighting and 4 policemen can't stop them?? to the SPF.

May 12, 2008 Man fined for punching cop after too many drinks By Khushwant Singh DRUNK after a jug each of beer and stout and shots of whisky, a sales manager punched and abused a police officer. On Monday, the 53-year-old was fined $4,000. Tiong Sin Lip, who had pleaded guilty, looked relieved on hearing about the fine, as his transgression could have landed him in jail for up to two years. The court heard that just past 2am on March 7, he turned up at the Paramount Hotel in Marine Parade in a taxi, already drunk, and sat on the stairway leading to the hotel. The cabby sought help from the hotel staff, as Tiong had not paid the fare. When the staff asked him about this, he let loose on them a torrent of abuse, but he paid up - and promptly fell asleep on the stairway. The police were called in, but when they woke him up, he turned aggressive and took a swing at Staff Sergeant Mahady Omar's jaw, which doctors later found slightly tender. The maximum penalty for causing hurt was increased from a $1,000 fine and a year's jail to a $5,000 fine and two years' jail for offences committed from Feb 1 this year. http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/...ory_236637.html wat type of statement is tat??? slightly tender??? ... go market buy fish or beef?