Archive for May, 2008

Do the Fashion Police have a highway patrol? A survey by Sheila’s Wheel, a British car insurer, found that nearly 190,000 female drivers have had an accident, a near miss or swerved suddenly due to their hair obscuring their ability to see. “With the latest trends requiring styling around the face and eyes, it’s essential that female motorists are aware of this safety issue,” says Jacky Brown of Sheila’s Wheel. The solution: a headband.

Who are these people? A recent study showed that nearly 3 percent of drivers change their path in order to intentionally run over turtles and snakes on the roadside. A group of Canadian researchers chose to examine this deadly phenomenon because of the naturally slow reproduction rate of snakes and turtles, made worse by their susceptibility to getting hit by cars. Snakes slither out to roadways to bask in the sun, and turtles bury their eggs in the sandy gravel at roadsides. Getting a sense…

THOUSANDS ARRIVED at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville to see the biggest Mid-America Trucking Show ever. New truck models were introduced with lots of noise and fanfare. There were ice sculptures at the Western Star booth, tattoo artists at International, Chrome Shop Mafia members wandering the aisles, antique trucks on display and exhibitors to cover every aspect of trucking. And with more than one million square feet to cover, there were a lot of tired feet. From top to bottom: Ford…

As we age, fitness and health become more important in upholding the quality of our lives. Think of your body like a truck. You do not go years without performing tuneups and regular maintenance, and you don’t put “junk fuel” in your truck. Why do this to your body? An ill-treated body will react the same way a neglected truck does if it goes five to 10 years with little or no maintenance. It will eventually break down, and fixing it will cost more money and time than a simpl…

Next time you find yourself cursing a poorly paved, narrow or winding stretch of road, just remember: It could be worse. Much worse. In fact, it could be the world’s worst road: “Death Road” in the North Yungas region of Bolivia. It has been called the most dangerous road in the world, a title earned for being more than just a bumpy ride. The yearly death toll on this 50-mile stretch is in the hundreds. “Death Road” also garnered its reputation by having p…