Posted: 22 July 2008
From: Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum., Bettym19@mindspring.com
To: info-ap.org
Date: Mon, Jul 21, 2008 5:35 pm
Subject: Deadly Tolls: Sick Truckers Causing Fatal Wrecks
Dear Associated Press:
Reading this article, you should know that aspartame used by 70% of the population is a seizure triggering drug, causes an irregular heart rhythm damages the cardiac conduction system and causes sudden death, and is notorious for causing heart attacks and black outs. In fact, this is our Pilot Alert for Mission Possible Aviation: http://www.mpwhi.com/pilot_aspartame_alert.htm This information has been given to not only the FAA who says they can't do anything because FDA approved it, but also the transportation hotline.
There are text books on the subject that go over all these problems:
Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, http://www.sunsentpress.com by H. J. Roberts, M.D.
Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, http://www.russellblaylockmd.com by Russell Blaylock, M.D.
There is even a movie on how this deadly addictive excitoneurotoxic carcinogenic drug, masquerading as an additive, is poisoning the world. It's called Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World, http://www.soundandfury.tv
These inhalers mentioned to control breathing many times have aspartame in them. Also, diabetics usually are on it even though aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Canderel/E961) can not precipitate diabetes, but aggravates and simulates diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, destroys the optic nerve, causes diabetics to go into convulsions and interacts with insulin. The man who was driving the ferry that crashed was also a diabetic and had a black out. These are common with aspartame.
We've been trying to get it banned for years but the FDA won't even answer a petition which is required by law, even though they tried to have the manufacturer indicted for fraud, and revoked the petition for approval. It was Don Rumsfeld that got this poison marketed as told in the movie, and has caused a worldwide epidemic of diseases. The FDA list of 92 symptoms includes blindness, memory loss, stroke, coma and dizziness for starters. Read some of the reports on web.
Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum.
Founder, Mission Possible World Health International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770-242-2599
E-Mail: BettyM19@mindspring.com
http://www.wpwhi.com
http://www.whno.net
http://www.dorway.com
Aspartame Toxicity Center: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame
From Yahoo News:
Deadly Tolls: Sick truckers causing fatal wrecks Deadly Tolls: Sick truckers causing fatal wrecks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080721/ap_on_go_ot/unfit_drivers_17
By HOPE YEN and FRANK BASS, Associated Press Writers
Tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the United States have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells behind the wheel that led to deadly crashes on highways. Hundreds of thousands of drivers carry commercial licenses even though they also qualify for full federal disability payments, according to a new U.S. safety study obtained by The Associated Press.
The problems threatening highway travelers persist despite years of government warnings and hundreds of deaths and injuries blamed on commercial truck and bus drivers who blacked out, collapsed or suffered major health problems behind the wheels of vehicles that can weigh 40 tons or more.
The U.S. agency responsible for cracking down on unfit truckers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, acknowledges it hasn't completed any of eight recommendations that U.S. safety regulators have proposed since 2001. One would set minimum standards for officials who determine whether truckers are medically safe to drive. Another would prevent truckers from "doctor shopping" to find a physician who might overlook a risky health condition. It's unclear whether any of the eight recommendations will be done before President Bush leaves office.
"We have a major public safety problem, and we haven't corrected it," said Gerald Donaldson, senior research director at the Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, whose members include consumer, health and safety groups and insurance companies. "You have an agency that is favorably disposed to maintaining the integrity of the industry's economic situation."
Truckers violating federal medical rules have been caught in every state, according to a review by the AP of 7.3 million commercial driver violations compiled by the Transportation Department in 2006, the latest data available. Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, New Jersey, Minnesota and Ohio were states where drivers were sanctioned most frequently for breaking medical rules, such as failing to carry a valid medical certificate. Those 12 states accounted for half of all such violations in the United States.
Consider these cases:
"Do you enjoy your clothing and house? Without the truck driver you would have none of it," said Gary Hull, 52, a trucker for a Louisiana company, as he drove from Edinburg, Texas, to Mansfield, La. "Our economy is based on the truck. People don't understand the ramifications of making it more restrictive for truck drivers to drive."
Hull said most drivers are hard workers who earn a modest salary and cope with rising diesel prices. New regulations could add to costs and force truckers to evade the rules, he said.
"There are enough government regulations as it is," agreed Ken Cornell, interviewed at a truck stop. "The medical profession should be able to take care of it. If they have a condition where they shouldn't be driving, they should be able to catch them."
The Transportation Department said 5,300 people died in crashes involving large commercial trucks or buses in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available, and about 126,000 more were injured. A federal safety study last summer found that cases where drivers fell asleep, suffered heart attacks or seizures or otherwise were physically impaired were a leading cause of serious crashes involving large trucks. But those cases included healthy drivers who fell asleep.
"The problem is major," said Dr. Kurt Hegmann, chairman of the federal motor carrier administration's medical oversight board, which is urging more doctor visits in many cases for truckers with serious medical conditions. "It's one of the biggest causes of occupational death in the United States today."
Congress may take action soon. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., will conduct oversight hearings Thursday. One proposal would create a clearinghouse for drug test results for commercial truck drivers to make it easier for employers to conduct checks. Oberstar's committee asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate unfit truck drivers.
The 30-page GAO study, obtained by the AP in advance of its release later this week, said 563,000 commercial drivers were determined by the Veterans Affairs Department, Labor Department or Social Security Administration to also be eligible for full disability benefits over health issues. It said disability doesn't necessarily mean a driver is unfit to operate a commercial vehicle, but its investigators found alarming examples that raised doubts about the safety of the nation's highways. They identified more than 1,000 drivers with vision, hearing or seizure disorders, which generally would prohibit a trucker from obtaining a valid commercial license.
The chief safety officer for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Rose McMurray, acknowledged problems that could lead to unfit truck drivers on the roads. She blamed delays in reforms on a lack of federal money and difficulty coordinating with 50 states. McMurray said changes to strengthen the medical oversight program may not be done for months or even years.
"We have done a lot to recognize the deficiencies in our medical oversight program, and the building blocks we're establishing are very smart and very strong," McMurray said.
Families of crash victims said stronger safety rules can't happen soon enough.
William Hieronymus II of Salina, Kan., said he remembers eating cereal each morning with his 10-month-old son. His son William and wife, Amanda, died in May 2005 when a truck crossed a median and struck their SUV.
The driver, Scott A. Wegrzyn, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide. Prosecutors said Wegrzyn knew he suffered from sleep apnea and went to a second doctor without disclosing the condition to obtain the medical certification he needed to drive.
"I try to go through a day without crying," Hieronymus said during Wegrzyn's trial. "I wonder every day what (Will) would have grown up to be, what he would have stood for."
On the Net:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety: http://www.saferoads.org
Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov