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ParkThe World > Australia > Victoria |
Park and playground at Craigmuir Lake in Mooroopna
Corner of McLennan and Morrell Streets in Mooroopna, Victoria, Australia on Australia Day 2013
The Milky Way galaxy arches high overhead in this all-sky night time panorama taken from Golburn Weir...
The sun sets over the Tahbilk winery, with a view over the famous Tahbilk wetlands.
Joe Byrne was one of the members of the Kelly Gang. He died in the siege at Glenrowan in 1880. As an ...
John (Red) Kelly was Ned Kelly's father. He was born in 1820 in Ireland and died in 1865. He was buri...
The old bootmaker's shop in Benalla. In this shop Ned Kelly had a fight with some policemen who wante...
Victoria is Australia's second smallest State and covers only 3% of Australia's land area but has the second highest population of all States and Territories.
Victoria's mainland and islands have a total length of 2,512 kilometres coastline which is about 4.2% of Australia's 59,736 kilometres of coastline.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent and Victoria is no exception although the state capital Melbourne has the reputation to have 4 seasons in one day.
Victoria is located in the southeast of mainland Australia and includes the most southern point on mainland Australia at Wilsons Promontory National Park.


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Gary Schwartz, Chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering's Melanoma and Sarcoma Service, describes two recent clinical trials of new treatments for types of sarcoma, rare cancers that can affect the bones or the body's soft tissues.
Sarcoma, a type of cancer that can affect the bones or the body's soft tissues — such as muscle, fat, and tendons — is often curable with surgery. But for those tumors that cannot be surgically removed or that come back after surgery, there have been few treatment options. This is in large part because sarcomas usually do not respond to traditional chemotherapy.
Targeted therapies, which work by taking advantage of genetic alterations in tumor cells, hold promise for bringing sarcomas under control. Now two trials of experimental drugs are showing encouraging results in treating certain subtypes of sarcoma.
"Historically, the challenge of treating sarcoma has been that it's a very complex group of different diseases," says Memorial Sloan Kettering medical oncologist and sarcoma expert Mark A. Dickson. "Sarcoma is not one cancer, but more than 50 different subtypes. Trials that have tried to give the same drug for all sarcomas have not been successful."
To develop targeted therapies, investigators need to determine the molecular changes that cause the disease in each of the different subtypes. Memorial Sloan Kettering is a leader in that effort, with a database that combines our collection of tumor samples from patients with information about those patients, such as age at diagnosis and details about their tumors and treatments.
"Our research is focused on looking for genes that are either mutated or amplified," says Gary K. Schwartz, Chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering's Melanoma and Sarcoma Service. "If a gene is amplified and makes many more copies than it should, it can often be a driver for cancer."
A recent phase II trial led by Dr. Dickson focused on one of the most common types of sarcoma, called well-differentiated or de-differentiated liposarcoma, a more common type of sarcoma that originates in fat cells. The study was published online April 8 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The trial was of a drug called PD0332991 (palbociclib), which targets a protein called CDK-4. That protein is overexpressed in this type of sarcoma because of a gene amplification and leads to the growth of cancerous cells. All patients in the trial had this particular molecular abnormality.
In the study, 30 patients received PD0332991 for 12 weeks. The investigators found that 70 percent of the patients did not have their disease progress during that time, which greatly exceeded the researchers' expectations. In addition, some patients had significant shrinking of their tumors.
"As far as we know, this is the first time anyone has done a phase II trial for this subtype of sarcoma, and in that way it's a pioneering study," Dr. Dickson says. "Based on our results there has been a lot of interest from doctors around the country who want to get their patients on this drug, and we are expanding the trial so that we can treat more patients."
Another trial, published in the April issue of Lancet Oncology, was led by Dr. Schwartz. In that study, also a phase II trial, investigators combined an experimental drug called cixutumumab with temsirolimus (Torisel®), a drug already approved for some forms of kidney cancer, to treat several subtypes of bone and soft tissue sarcoma.
Cixutumumab is an antibody that targets a receptor on cancer calls known as IGF-1R. Temsirolimus blocks a cancer-related pathway called mTOR. Both IGF-1R and mTOR are critical for the growth of many sarcoma types.
"You can think of mTOR as the engine of the cancer cell that's responsible for its survival, and IGF-1R as the ignition," Dr. Schwartz explains. "The idea is that you use cixutumumab to cap the ignition, so that the key can't go in the lock. But you are also adding the extra benefit of inactivating the engine itself by using temsirolimus to block mTOR."
"This is the first multicenter clinical study ever conducted to evaluate this combination," Dr. Schwartz adds.
The multicenter trial, which included 388 patients, found that the number of patients whose disease did not progress after 12 weeks of treatment was improved compared with other treatments. In addition, some patients with a type of sarcoma called solitary fibrous tumor had stable disease for more than a year. Patients with the subtypes Ewing sarcoma, osteosarcoma, and chondrosarcoma had partial shrinkage of their tumors.
Dr. Dickson and Dr. Schwartz plan to move their research forward with larger, phase III trials, but challenges remain. Dr. Schwartz notes that it is difficult to find funding from pharmaceutical companies to treat sarcomas, which are considered rare diseases. Recruiting enough patients to participate in a larger trial can also be a roadblock.
"For research on these rare cancers like sarcoma, which affects about 13,000 people per year, funding from organizations like Cycle for Survival is becoming increasingly important," Dr. Schwartz says. "Money from Cycle for Survival funded much of this research, from the basic research in the laboratory up to and including this phase II trial."
Both physicians have trials under way for other experimental sarcoma drugs and continue to focus on research looking for new targets.
Dr. Dickson's research was funded by a Career Development Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation, Pfizer, and the National Cancer Institute under grant CA047179. Dr. Schwartz's research was funded by Cycle for Survival and the National Cancer Institute under grants CA148260 and CA140331.
my late wife was a patient of Dr Dickson's and passed away last year from Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma. what made her mad was the lack of research and new drugs being introduced to tackle rare cancer types like Sarcoma. so its great to read this article on new treatment options and I hope more research will follow.
Thank you Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Dickson, for your hard work. I am a patient at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, I'm a patient of Dr. Keohan, Dr. Singer and Dr. Bains. Right now I'm NED (14 months) since my last surgery.
My question is, is there any promising treatment or targeted therapy for Synovial sarcoma? I had AIM in 2007 did well shrank my tumor and cleared my caking in my omental wall I was able to have surgery With Dr. Singer. In a had a small recurrence in my left lung in 2010, no chemo just surgery with Dr. Bains. In 2011 I had a larger recurrence bilobial masses again in my left lung this time chemo Ifosfomide and Etopiside after two rounds they scanned but no change at which point surgery was recommended. I had surgery with Dr. Bains in Feb 2012. I was told that the chemo didn't work. I'm scared I know this disease can come back at any time, I have spoken to many synovial sarcoma patients everyone has such different results with there treatments. Please help all sarcoma patient we need something to help win this battle.
Elizabeth, we are investigating many targeted therapies for sarcoma, including some that may work for synovial sarcoma. If you have specific questions, you should speak with Dr. Keohan. Thank you for your comment.
This is a great news. One of my friend in India is having bone sarcoma. He has taken chemo, Surgery is not good in his case and chemo is not affecting. Family is worried. I was workign with MSKCC for 6 years as a postdoc and now back to India. Can I forward his reports and test reports for your expert advise please?
Dr Nirmala Jagadish
Nirmala, to find out more information about our Bobst International Center, which can help coordinate patient care or review medical records, you can go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/international-patients. Thank you for your comment.
My little brother was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma called Desmoplastic small round cell tumor, I was hoping to find any promising treatment for this type of cancer.
your response is appreciated.
Thanks for your comment. For information about the treatment of desmoplastic small round cell tumors, you can go to: http://www.mskcc.org/pediatrics/childhood/pediatric-sarcomas/desmoplastic-small-round-cell-tumors. A list of related clinical trials can be found here. If you'd like to make an appointment with a Memorial Sloan-Kettering physician, please call our Department of Pediatrics at 212-639-5954.
My wife and I traveled to MSKCC from the midwest in 2006 to consult with Dr Schwartz regarding her recent surgery for GIST. The hope and peace of mind from our consult with Dr Schwartz was of great comfort to us. She is NED. The gentle bed side manner and manifested competence of Dr Schwartz was an immeasureable blessing to us in this crisis. As a physician myself, I am inspired, as I hope others are, to emulate Dr Schwartz in caring for others.
My patient is under the treatment of Dr Schwartz since 2008 and he is now almost cured of his Soft Tissue Sarcoma. Dr Schwartz has done a terrific job of taking care and comforting my patient with the most modern and latest therapies at his command. We have been traveling all the way from India for his treatment and it was a very fulfilling and rich experience. I wish Dr Schwartz and Dr Dickson ( who saw my patient initially when he was a Resident ) all the success for new therapies for Sarcomas.
Hi, sir. I am a doctor in Brazil, i am urologic. My nephew had diagnosticed with angiosarcoma in periorbital to right. No have mestastatic but had infiltration in soft tissue. How can I send the exams to you or this center for an initial evaluation.
Ronaldo, if you would like to arrange for a records review or to learn more about coming to Memorial Sloan-Kettering as an international patient, please visit the page on our Bobst International Center to learn more about it. http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/international-patients. Thank you for your comment.
I am having chondrosarcoma in my right shoulder. Undergone surgery three times. Recurrence is there. I am in India. How can I approach you? Tentative expensive for indoor treatment.
Premji, if you would like to learn more about coming to Memorial Sloan-Kettering as an international patient, please visit the page on our Bobst International Center to learn more about it. http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/international-patients. Thank you for your comment.
I am newly diagnosed with endometrial stromal sarcoma - low grade. I have had surgery but no other treatment so far except progesterone. I hear this can be a tricky cancer/diagnosis and treatment methods seem undefined. How do you treat this cancer at your facility?
Peggy, here is some information from our web site that may be useful:
If you would like to make an appointment with one of our physicians, please call Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Physician Referral Service at 866-280-0449.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you so much for the hard work you are doing
I hope to keep tabs on your work! I just had my first surgery to remove a tumor May 2nd. Pathology came back as a dedifferentiated Liposarcoma,high grade. My team is going to start radiation on me in a couple weeks. I'll be sharing this news with them. Do you/have you worked with the James Research & Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University or Dr. Raphael Pollock at all (he is leaving MD Anderson and coming to The James)
Nico, we forwarded your question to Dr. Schwartz, and he said he and his colleagues work closely with Dr. Pollock. If you would like to come to Memorial Sloan-Kettering for a second opinion, you can call 800-525-2225 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/appointment. Thank you for your comment.
My husband has Spindle Cell Sarcoma. After 25 rounds of radiation, he had a tumor removed (the tumor burst during removal) from his armpit last July. He then had 15 more rounds of radiation. In December, his scan showed that it has spread to his lungs. He also has a lesion in the shoulder that he had surgery on. He has started a third chemo treatment.....the first 2 kinds did not help. He feels that the treatment he is taking now is not helping either. The pain in his shoulder just gets worse and worse, and the pain medication is not helping much. He coughs all the time. How do you treat this cancer? He is 60 years old.
Unfortunately we are not able to answer individual medical questions on our blog. If you'd like to make an appointment to speak with a Memorial Sloan-Kettering doctor, you can call 800-525-2225 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/appointment for more information. Thank you for your comment.
My granddaughter was just diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. She is 21 years old. Is this considered a child's desease? Does your center have experience treating this type of cancer? Which doctor should we approach?
Haroula, rhabdomyosarcoma is generally considered a pediatric disease, even when it affects young adults. You can learn more about our expertise in treating the disease here: http://www.mskcc.org/pediatrics/childhood/rhabdomyosarcoma To make an appointment to speak with one of our doctors in the Department of Pediatrics, you can call 212-639-5954 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/pediatrics/appointment for more information. Thank you for your comment.
My wife had a 2.5 cm tumor in t1 nerve seath of the left bracial plexus which caused an onset of severe pain along the ulnar nerve. A Pet scan showed no molecular activity. A qualified surgeon operated, initially thinking that the tumor would be benign, removed the tumor in pieces and saved the nerve. Initial frozen pathology on the day of the surgery confirmed it was benign. However the second, more in depth pathology indicated synovial sarcoma (mono ssx2, grade low to intermediate. ) We have had varying opinions. From surgery to remove the nerve ( to achieve good margins), nerve grafts, all types of radiation and chemotherapy in varying doses. The sticking point for us is chemo - it doesn't seem by our research - becuse of the inactivity of the pet scan, the size, the brain blood barrier that chemo to offers much benefit but several doctors are strongly of the opinion that it is nessesary. Does memorial- Sloan have a treatment protocal, specifically on chemo for synovial sarcoma.
Keith, to learn more about how Memorial Sloan-Kettering treats soft tissue sarcomas, include synovial sarcoma, you can go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/adult/soft-tissue-sarcoma. We also have several clinical trials for sarcoma. If you'd like to speak to someone at Memorial Sloan-Kettering about receiving a second opinion or coming here for treatment, you can call 800-525-2225 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/appointment for more information. Thank you for your comment.
I lost my Dad last March due to soft tissue sarcoma. He was a patient at MSK. He received the best care I have ever witnessed, which says a lot as I work in the healthcare field. He responded well to 2 different rounds of chemo. The meds attacked the tumors without damaging him. He was happy and active until the day before he died. His cancer was very advanced when it was found. His family doctor did not think he would live 6 weeks. With new chemo, he lived well. If people and the government continue to support research and new treatment options, this horrible form of cancer could become survivable. Thanks to all of you at MSK for what you did for me and mine, and what you continue to do for others.
I am a 32 year old female and I just had a CAT scan on the back of my upper arm and shoulder blade. The radiologost and my primary care doctor think I could have a liposarcoma or lipoma tumor. They are recommding surgical removal. My questions are what type of surgeon should I have remove the tumor, does MSK have doctors who perform this surgery, and should I wait for the biopsy results before making an appointment at MSK if it is cancerous? Thank-you!
Sally, If you would like to make an appointment with a Memorial Sloan-Kettering physician, please call our Physician Referral Service at 800-525-2225 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/appointment. They will be able to discuss these questions with you. Thanks for your comment.
My 21 year old son was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma and is currently receiving treatment at Children's Hospital and University of Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Center in Birmingham, AL. The plan is that surgery will follow chemotherapy and radiation to shrink this high grade tumor, which through extensive testing, has been determined to be localized to his right knee and is 6cm. We have been referred to a surgeon at UAB. I need a recommendation for a surgeon in Birmingham and we will also want a second opinion, as I'm told we will be presented with surgical options for knee replacement, other preservation techniques or not. Please advise.
Dear Eve, we're sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. Unfortunately, we cannot provide medical or treatment advice on our blog. If you would like to seek a second opinion from one of our doctors, you can go to www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/appointment to learn more or call 800-525-2225 during the week to speak to one of our Physician Referral specialists. You may also wish to contact the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER or learn more from the NCI website at www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma. Thank you for your comment.
My mother has undergone a surgery (Well differentiated Retriperitonial Liposarcoma) 10 days back here in India, Doctors got succeed in removing the complete Tumor....would you please help me with the details of further treatment and info, Thank you so much.
Chris, for information on coming to MSKCC from outside the US, please contact our Bobst International Center at http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/international-patients. Thank you for your comment.
My niece has been diagnosed with stage 4 Epithelioid Angiocaroma of the peritoneum after going into urgent care for stomach pains the day before Thanksgiving. She is only 19 and basically a healthy active young adult. She is now under the care of UCLA Med Center which we hope is best for her but given the rarity of this cancer we are hoping to get additional consultation or collaboration with her doctors at UCLA. How can we request this or get MSKCC interest/involvement?
Florence, if your niece would like to see a Memorial Sloan-Kettering doctor, you can call 800-525-2225 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/appointment to learn more about making an appointment. Thank you for your comment.
My uncle is diagnosed with dedifferentiated retroperitonial liposarcoma 6months back in india.he had undergone 2 surgeries 1 for abdomen which they removed 21 inches tissue and other for kidney. He was responding properly to 2 cycles of chemo but after the recent one he was collapsed and organs didnt work for some time but by gods grace he is fine now. Sarcoma in abdomen is 16 inches now can you please suggest us with what could be the further treatment.
Dear Jacks, unfortunately we cannot answer personal medical questions on this blog. But if your uncle is in India and would like to learn about coming to Memorial Sloan-Kettering or in having his records reviewed he (or you) can contact our International Center at 1-212-639-4900 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/international-patients. Thank you for your comment.
My friend has just last week been diagnosed with follicula dendritic cell sarcoma.the doctors here in australia have never treated anyone with it. We are desperatly looking for learnings and treatments which can help are you able to give us a contact so,that our doctors can speak to,you about the best treatments.
Yours sincerely.
Christine, your friend or his/her doctors can contact our International Center to learn about having records reviewed for consultation. Call 1-212-639-4900 or go to http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/international-patients
Thank you for your comment.
I have been dealing with Leiomyosarcoma for 26 years. At one point , i went 7 years and 10 months without any tumors. I have recently been diagnosed by Dr. Singer , with yet another tumor. This will be my 9th surgery (5 at MSKCC with Dr. Brennan and Singer) and my second time for chemo. Dr. Dickson is wonderful . He is so kind and knowledgeable and really listens to your concerns. The whole staff is great. If you must go somewhere , go to MSKCC. My first 3 tumors went undiagnosed and finally someone said "go to Sloan". The rest is history. In between treatment , I live a normal life. I am a wife (of almost 50 years) a mom, grand mom, retired RN and teacher. I pursue many hobbies and Sloan has kept me living and loving life. I am a poster "child" for their care---26 years ago I was told to prepare for the worst---now I face this new challenge hoping again for the best with the help of my team.

subset: commoncrawl


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 22, 2009
CHICAGO — Oprah.com is joining forces with CNN.com and Facebook to present a live Oprah's Book Club interactive web event on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The webcast will be a 90-minute worldwide event, during which readers can submit their questions for the author and potentially be featured during the live discussion. The special online event will be streamed live simultaneously from CNN.com's video player on Oprah.com and CNN.com and will utilize Facebook Connect, enabling users to comment through their Facebook profiles without ever leaving the live webcast. Oprah's Book Club 63rd selection is Say You're One of Them, the work of fiction by Uwem Akpan. The book covers the plight of children in Africa through five short stories that are each told from a child's perspective. As the biggest book club in the world, Oprah's Book Club has nearly 2 million online members. Enrollment is free and provides members with access to benefits such as online discussion groups and reading questions. To join Oprah's Book Club or to register for the web event, log on to www.oprah.com/bookclubevent. Additionally, CNN will tap into iReport, CNN's user-generated news community, and encourage online users who have already read the book to share their comments about what moved them through video or photo submissions. The iReport submissions, along with questions or comments submitted via Oprah.com and Facebook, may be incorporated into the live online event. Published on October 22, 2009


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Posts about Bob McDonnell
Breakfast links: Get it moving
This article was posted as an April Fool's joke.Purple Line gets first sponsor: Maryland has a transportation funding bill, but to help get the Purple Line moving, MDOT has signed a deal with Six Flags Corporation to sponsor the Purple Line. The new roller coaster design will include a loop-the-loop at Columbia Country Club and feature significantly higher speeds, reducing travel time.
New tax plan for Virginia: Governor Bob McDonnell proposes eliminating the state sales tax. He would make up the revenue by a 50% tax on hybrid or electric cars, organic produce, reusable grocery bags, and bicycle inner tube replacements. Observers now consider him a shoo-in for the 2016 GOP Presidential primary.
Congestion solved: The Texas Transportation Institute found that lost jobs from sequestration improved congestion. "Therefore, the logical policy for transportation must be further job loss," said Tim Lomax. Plus, Stockton, "foreclosure capital of the world," has the nation's lowest congestion, making it a clear model to emulate.
Where's the birth certificate?: Donald Trump is offering a reward for anyone who can prove DC Councilmember McDuffie isn't a "native Washingtonian." Stronghold resident McDuffie owns the house he was raised in and says he was born here, but no incontrovertible proof was immediately available after a 5-minute Google search.
Metro becoming more self-service: As part of its efforts to create a more "self-service" system in the Momentum plan, Metro will replaces all escalators with stairs and convert trains and buses to a Flintstone's-style power system.
Examiner will keep going: The Washington Examiner has reversed course and will continue its current publishing format. "Once we saw how upset our editorial style made David Alpert, we figured we were doing our job and had to continue," said editor Stefan Schmitt. The paper will, however, still fire Kytja Weir and Liz Essley, as both sometimes had positive things to say about transit.
Cheh apologizes: After weeks of speculation and inquiries from the local press, Mary Cheh relented and issued a letter of apology for her completely legal campaign fundraising activities. "DC residents have come to expect so much more of their elected officials," said DC voter Amy Zoneger.
Virginia conferees reach flawed transportation deal
As the clock winds down on the 2013 Virginia General Assembly session, a conference committee has reached a deal to eliminate the gas tax, but impose a wholesale tax on gas, divert more general fund revenue to transportation, and charge a $100 per year fee on alternative fuel vehicles. Some of the new funding will go to transit and rail, but the lion's share will go to highway construction.
The conference committee deal would generate an estimated $3.5 billion in additional transportation funds over the next 5 years, roughly $900 million a year after that, and even more in future years. It includes some positive provisions to address our transportation challenges, but is a flawed deal, with a number of provisions that are cause for serious concern.
If approved, the deal will affect for decades how Virginians travel, how much we pay in fees and taxes, and how our tax dollars are spent.
Since Governor McDonnell unveiled his plan the day before session began, there have been plenty of twists and turns to the effort to pass the most significant transportation funding boost in the Commonwealth since 1986. Reflecting the deep disagreement over various proposals, the House and Senate each narrowly adopted a major package, with sharp differences between the two versions.
A conference committee met this week and hammered out the proposed deal that now must pass each chamber. The House and Senate could vote on it as early as today.
Where will the money come from?
The primary disagreement between the House and Senate has been over whether to raise revenues through the gas tax and other user fees or to take money from the general fund.
Gas tax: The governor's proposal and the House version of the transportation bill would have eliminated the current 17.5¢ per gallon state gasoline tax, which the Senate voted to raise it and index it for inflation. The conference committee version would eliminate the gas tax, and fill the resulting budget hole (over $4.5 billion in the next five years) by imposing a wholesale tax on gasoline and diesel and increasing the sales tax on vehicle purchases.
Eliminating the gas tax weakens the logical tie between transportation use and funding, and Virginians who use roads less will subsidize those who use the roads more. The compromise does retain elements of a user-pays approach through the wholesale fuels tax and sales tax on vehicle purchases, although it sends a weaker price signal.
A better alternative would have been to increase and/or index the gas tax, or apply the sales tax to gasoline purchases, as the Senate version did. These measures would properly tie fees and taxes to use of public infrastructure and allow revenues to grow with the price of gas. The governor is correct that the gas tax is a declining revenue source, but the main reason it is declining is that it doesn't rise with inflation and hasn't been increased since 1986.
General fund: If much of the proposed funding deal only brings us back to where we are today, where do the additional funds come from? The deal would divert a portion of the existing sales tax, increase the sales tax, and devote possible future online sales tax revenue to transportation.
Sales tax revenues typically go to the general fund. Although transportation is a core function of government, there are few or no other state dedicated revenue sources for education, health care, public safety, and conservation. The deal would divert an estimated $3 billion over the next 5 years that could have gone to other core services, at a time when Virginia ranks 35th in state investment in higher education, 38th in public K-12, and 46th in Medicaid spending.
Clean vehicle fees: The compromise also would impose a $100 fee on alternative fuel vehicles, as the governor had proposed. This "hybrid car tax" is particularly hard to justify when gas taxes are being cut, and it would create a disincentive for purchasing vehicles that help achieve critical goals such as reducing pollution and conserving energy.
Regional funding: The proposed deal also includes regional funding packages of approximately $300-350 million annually for Northern Virginia and $175-200 million annually for Hampton Roads. Funding is likely to come through local sales tax revenues but many details remain unclear.
Where will the money go?
Amid all the debate, a central issue has largely been ignored: how will the state spend these additional funds?
Highway construction: The General Assembly authorized almost $4 billion in additional transportation funds just 2 years ago. The administration has earmarked almost all of these funds for roads, and has spent much of the money on destructive projects that do not address pressing transportation needs.
In the proposed deal, although there is some good news for rail and transit, most of the funding again will go to road-building Passenger rail funding: Passenger rail is a transportation success story, with record ridership last year. Without dedicated, sustainable funding, however, Virginia could lose its intercity services due to federal funding changes. A bright spot of the proposed deal is that it would provide roughly $50 million annually to preserve and expand passenger rail.
Transit funding and Dulles Rail: The deal would provide additional funding to transit as well. In addition, $300 million would go to Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail (Silver Line) project, which would help address the relatively small contribution Virginia has made to a project that could significantly enhance multimodal transportation in one of the nation's leading economic and employment corridors.
However, going forward, it appears transit will only receive about 1/6 of the funding devoted to roads, despite transit's benefits in reducing congestion, energy consumption, and pollution while providing better services for elderly, disabled, and low-income citizens.
The compromise before the General Assembly offers some meaningful benefits, but it has numerous shortcomings and does nothing to advance overdue policy reforms to help ensure that our transportation dollars are used wisely.
Virginia needs a more balanced, efficient, and cleaner transportation system. Time will tell how far this deal gets us.
Floor debates begin on flawed McDonnell transportation bills
Governor McDonnell's transportation funding bills (HB2313 and SB 1355) are on the floor of the Virginia House and Senate today and tomorrow. The McDonnell Administration is facing objections on many fronts, but the Republican majority quickly pushed the bills through committee.
Votes to pass the bills must take place before "cross-over" on midnight Tuesday in order for them to survive and cross over to the other chamber.
Many legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, will seek amendments on the floor, but observers believe that the Governor and leadership want to push the bills into a closed-door conference committee where the Republican majority will control crafting the final bill. That means the best opportunity for major amendments is now.
If you are concerned about these bills, you can get the latest from the Coalition for Smarter Growth, contact your elected officials, and monitor @csgstewart and @betterDCregion for a Twitter play-by-play.
Without critical amendments, the bill that ultimately emerges from the conference committee is unlikely to be a good deal for Northern Virginia or other metropolitan areas of the state. The McDonnell administration has squandered much of the $3 billion in borrowed funds the legislature authorized in 2011. The governor spent it on highway projects in rural areas, while neglecting funding for Dulles Rail, Tysons Corner, and Hampton Roads' top priorities Prominent among the McDonnell Administration's wasteful projects have been Route 460, the Coalfields Expressway, Charlottesville Bypass and the Outer Beltway. If Virginia continues to pursue these projects it could waste a combined $5.5 billion, but if the legislature makes review and reevaluation of these projects a condition of new funding, there's still a chance to redeploy the funds to real transportation needs.
Eliminating all taxes on gasoline, the centerpiece of McDonnell's bill, could make traffic in our metro areas worse, reducing transit use and increasing driving. It cuts the sensible tie between transportation use and funding, forcing Virginians who drive less to subsidize those who drive more, hurting seniors and low-income people, carpoolers, transit users, those who live closer to their jobs.
Switching to the sales tax could also make Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads further subsidize long-distance driving throughout the state. It would also divert state general funds essential for education, health care, public safety and conservation.
Without amendments to ensure the Virginia Department of Transportation sets better priorities, there is no guarantee in these bills to meet the needs of the metro areas or the state's growing transit needs. There is no guarantee these bills will restore funding for local roads; for the past 2 years, VDOT has zeroed out funding for secondary roads in localities despite record transportation spending.
Fortunately, nearly all of the Democrats and a number of Republicans believe that eliminating all taxes on gasoline is a bad idea. Opposition to the idea also extends from the smart growth community to the Wall Street Journal.
On January 15, a Wall Street Journal editorial argued that McDonnell's scheme "violates the user-pays principle" of sound public finance: Here's a more detailed breakdown of where we find nearly $5.5 billion in waste:[It] would mean that a Virginia resident who may not even own a car has to pay more for road repairs when he buys a cell phone, computer or Big Mac. Motorists who benefit most from the roads would pay almost nothing directly to use them... [F]unding transportation through a sales tax "makes roads free," at least in terms of direct payments, and thus will lead to more driving and more gridlock
Let's hope the legislature rejects the Governor's proposal to eliminate the gas tax. We hope the legislature will vote for the following amendments:
Without these amendments, the legislature should reject the Governor's bills and new funding for the state transportation agencies.
Virginia legislators say "raise the gas tax"
In response to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's insane plan to fund transportation by eliminating the gas tax, Democrats in Virginia's House of Delegates have proposed an alternative. It combines Democratic and Republican proposals to increase the gas tax statewide and give Northern Virginia separate authority to raise its own new funds.
Yesterday, the House Democratic Caucus outlined principles they believe should underlie any transportation funding plan for Virginia, and offered their support for a collection of 9 alternate bills which they say form a bipartisan path forward and an alternative to the governor's plan.
Among those bills are Republican-written proposals to institute a new 5% fuel tax and to raise sales taxes in Northern Virginia specifically for transportation projects in that part of the state.
Any transportation plan, the House Democrats say, should:
- Generate at least $1 billion in new money per year.
- Rely on a realistic, dependable source of revenue, based on Virginia's actions, not potential federal changes that may or may not happen.
- Not transfer monies that otherwise fund schools, health care, and public safety.
- Fund not just maintenance, but construction, including rail and transit.
- Provide additional revenue both immediately and into the future.
- Give authority to Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to raise additional funds for their own transportation needs.
The 9 specific bills that Democrats cited as true to those core principles are HB1677, HB1878, HB2063, HB2179, HB2253, HB2333, HB1450, HB1472, and HB1633. The House could pick one of those 9 to push, or it could try to amend one of them to combine the best provisions from all.
Republicans control the Virginia House, and the Senate is evenly split, so any plan will need GOP support to pass.
Although it's true that some questionable highway projects would surely be built if Virginia ultimately adopts this transportation funding plan, this also offers far more support for transit and urban needs than the governor's proposal, and it doesn't include as many harmful, regressive policies. This is a far more reasonable outline.
Cross-posted at BeyondDC.
Could McDonnell's transportation plan be any worse?
When Virginia governor Bob McDonnell released his transportation plan, I criticized the scheme to replace the gas tax with a sales tax. This Sunday's Washington Post includes an op-ed I wrote on the topic, which also incorporates many of the points you made in the comments. The Post is pairing it with a piece by Governor McDonnell defending his proposal.Does Virginia's governor still represent Virginia, or is Robert F. McDonnell looking toward higher office? This month, McDonnell (R) proposed a transportation funding plan that would provide a windfall to drivers in other states who pass through Virginia while dumping more burdens on Virginians, especially residents of Northern Virginia.
McDonnell's transportation funding plan, if you can call it one, would eliminate the gas tax and make it up, plus a little more, with a sales-tax hike on just about everything except driving. Instead of the common-sense idea that the more people use transportation, the more they should pay for it, McDonnell would do the opposite.
The biggest windfall would go to anyone who drives through the state without stopping. Going from Maryland to the Carolinas and beyond? Enjoy the state's roads and bridges for free. Through-drivers, who add to traffic congestion and the wear and tear of the roads, would directly contribute to state coffers only if they happen to stop for a burger along the way.
Continue reading the op-ed in the Washington Post.
McDonnell's insane transportation plan: no gas tax
We knew there would be some nutty proposals in the Virginia legislature this year, and some serious attempts to fix transportation funding, but Governor Bob McDonnell managed to stun everyone yesterday with a real doozy: eliminate the gas tax entirely. Seriously.
Virginia sorely needs money for transportation. While McDonnell is borrowing $3 billion from the future to fund a few mega-road projects (many also unnecessary and wasteful), there isn't enough money to keep maintaining existing roads and bridges, or fund 8-car trains on Metro to relieve Rush Plus overcrowding, or build light rail Northern Virginia needs.
Virginia's gas tax is also one of the lowest in the nation. It brings in less money per gallon of gas, adjusted for inflation, than anytime in history, and is less than half in real dollars what it was in 1933. That's why a lot of Virginia legislators are calling for real action on transportation this year.
Even a few Republicans are maybe interested in finding a tortured path around their promises not to ever raise taxes, like Delegate Dave Albo's not-entirely-insane idea to raise the gas tax but give Virginia residents an income tax break to offset it.
Jim Titus suggested Virginia consider a variant of a proposal Maryland debated last year, to extend some or all of the sales tax to gasoline instead of raising the gas tax. Gas is exempt from the sales tax, which means that while the gas tax raises some revenue, the state's general fund loses the revenue that would have come from taxing the sale of that gas just like it taxes housewares or computers or anything else.
McDonnell's plan takes the opposite tack. He would eliminate the gas tax entirely, but also keep exempting gas from the sales tax. He said, "That's right, no more gas tax at the pump. No sales tax at the pump either."
The state would then collect no money at all on people buying gas, even though it collects money from people buying most anything else. It even has a sales tax on groceries, unlike DC and Maryland. This means you would pay something for buying grapes and ginger but not gasoline.
But wait, isn't McDonnell's plan a transportation funding plan? McDonnell would then raise the sales tax by 0.8 cents on the dollar. This would bring in $183 million a year by 2018, but less now. Meanwhile, many people say the state needs about $1 billion a year for transportation. Fairfax County alone says they need $300 million a year. The Washington Post calls the revenue from this plan "paltry."
Governor McDonnell proposes dedicating the first $300 million the sales tax raises to the Silver Line. He's certainly doing this to try to win the votes of northern Virginia legislators. But the state should already have been providing at least $500 million or more for this project years ago. McDonnell, instead, withheld the money and now is trying to use it as a bargaining chip.
This is insane
This is not just a silly proposal or, like most from the tax-phobic Virginia Republicans, ineffective. It's actually deeply harmful.
While it raises a small amount of revenue, it more significantly shifts the burden of paying for transportation away from people using transportation and onto everyone. Don't have a car? Except for the car tax, you will still pay for Virginia roads as much as everyone else. Live close to your job? Too bad, you pay the same as someone with a 50-mile commute.
It's notable that McDonnell didn't propose making transit free. If we're talking radical ideas, how about that? It's a close equivalent to having no gas tax, as road users pay some (but not all) the cost of road maintenance through the gas tax (and Virginia covers other costs with revenue from other sources), and transit users pay some (but not all) the cost of transit through fares.
Virginia's gas taxes also have a regional impact. Some people already prefer to buy gasoline in Virginia versus DC or Maryland because it's cheaper. If Virginia goes for McDonnell's idea, the gap between Virginia gas prices and DC and Maryland gas prices would widen. More people would buy gas in Virginia. Some would even drive out of their way to go to a gas station in Virginia, making traffic even worse.
But for all that, the state wouldn't even benefit one bit. When Virginia steals companies away from DC and Maryland with corporate tax breaks, it's a net loss for the whole region, but at least from Virginia's point of view there's an upside in that they get other revenue. This doesn't have an upside, except possibly a very tenuous general attraction for a few people to live in Virginia because of the gas taxes; but if any of those people exist, they drive a lot, meaning they'll worsen traffic for everyone else.
There's more
Besides the sales tax, there are a few other elements to the proposal.
It would raise vehicle registration fees by $15 per year and allocate 50% to transit and 50% to intercity rail, raising about $109 million per year. The latter portion would fund commitments the state has already made for expanded Virginia Amtrak service.
Another element is to charge alternative fuel vehicles $100 per year. McDonnell's argument is that since these use less gas, they should contribute to the costs of road maintenance. But it's particularly ironic that he's looking to have these vehicles pay for road maintenance while exempting regular gas-guzzlers.
Finally, McDonnell is hoping Congress will pass the Marketplace Equity Act, which lets states charge sales taxes on online purchases. But it's very dubious to count on this bill, as observers think it has only a small chance of passing. Plus, absent the Governor's plan, this bill could give Virginia money it also needs for education, public safety, and other priorities.
McDonnell has somehow managed to come up with one of the worst transportation funding plans conceivable. It's even worse than doing nothing, and doing nothing should not be an option. The legislature needs to laugh him out of the room and either come up with something better, or hope that the next governor has better sense.
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Greater Washington
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Disclaimer - Please Read
The Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study (DFAS) was the largest and most comprehensive over-the-road study ever conducted on driver fatigue and alertness in North America. It provides extensive information on the alertness, driving performance, and physiological and subjective states of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers as they perform real-life, revenue-generating trips. This Executive Summary overviews the objectives, methods, principal findings, and safety implications of this landmark 7-year study.
The DFAS was initiated in 1989 by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) in response to a Congressional directive contained in the Truck and Bus Safety and Regulatory Reform Act of 1988. Field data collection was conducted in 1993 and the project was completed in 1996. The overall cost of the study was US$4.45 million.
The DFAS was both a public-private and an international partnership. In addition to the funding provided by the FHWA, the Trucking Research Institute (TRI) of the American Trucking Associations Foundation and Transport Canada funded a significant portion of the data collection and analysis effort. The TRI, the National Private Truck Council, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association provided considerable input in public forums. These organizations, as well as the Canadian Trucking Association and the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, helped recruit motor carriers and drivers and provided technical and operational support to the research effort. Over-the-road data were collected both in the U.S. and Canada. Numerous organizations and individuals shared their views and suggestions regarding the study with the project team during publicly-announced consultation sessions and/or individual discussions.
Essex Corporation, Columbia, Maryland, was the principal research organization conducting this study. Supporting organizations included the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation of La Jolla, California; Miller Ergonomics of Imperial Beach, California; Deaconess Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri; and the Sleep Disorders Centre of Metropolitan Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Three motor carriers provided drivers, vehicles, and the real world less-than-truckload (LTL) operational setting for the study.
Four principal publications have been produced to report the findings of this study:
FMCSA, Office of Research and Technology, 400 Virginia Ave., SW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024, telephone: 202-385-2388, fax 202-385-2422. Transportation Development Centre, Transport Canada, 800 Rne Lvesque Blvd. W., 6th Floor, Montral, Qubec H3B 1X9 Canada, fax: (514) 283-7158, e-mail: email@example.com .
Driver fatigue is a safety issue of special concern to CMV transportation. Under current U.S. Federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, CMV drivers may drive up to 10 hours after a mandatory 8-hour off-duty period. In Canada, the maximum driving time is 13 hours. Many CMVs often run at night, and drivers sometimes have irregular and unpredictable work schedules. Most of their mileage is compiled during long trips on Interstate and other limited-access highways. Because of the CMVs' high annual mileage exposure (often 5-10 times that of passenger vehicles) and other factors, commercial drivers' risk of being involved in a fatigue-related crash is far greater than that of non-commercial drivers -- even though CMV drivers represent a relatively small proportion of all drivers involved in fatigue-related crashes. In addition, many other crash causation factors, such as alcohol use, speeding, and other unsafe driving acts, are generally less common in crashes involving commercial drivers. Thus, fatigue is a relatively larger concern for these CMV drivers and their vehicles.
The maximum amount of time that CMV drivers, operating in U.S. interstate commerce, may drive their vehicles is specified in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, in Part 395. (In Canada, it is the federal "Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, 1994"; SOR/DORS/94-716, 15 November 1994.) The U.S. regulations were originally developed in 1935 by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to counteract perceived unsafe driver scheduling practices. In 1938, the ICC requested the U.S. Public Health Service to conduct an investigation into CMV HOS in interstate commerce. This was the first scientific study to address driver fatigue as related to HOS. The Public Health Service study supported the need for regulatory limitation of HOS to help ensure highway safety. In 1967, the ICC's responsibilities concerning CMV driver and vehicle safety were transferred to the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety (now OMC) of the FHWA, an agency within the then newly-created U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The DOT conducted three studies on CMV driver fatigue between the 1970s and the present. None resulted in changes being made to the Federal HOS regulations. In 1988, the Congress directed the DOT to conduct research to determine the relationships among HOS regulations, driver fatigue, and the frequency of serious accidents involving CMVs. Also in 1988, the FHWA hosted a Symposium on Truck and Bus Driver Fatigue, which brought together experts from the motor carrier industry, the scientific and medical communities, law enforcement, and public policy. The DFAS was initiated in response to this Congressional directive and its design was based upon Symposium recommendations. The study began in 1989.
In the 1990s, driver fatigue has continued to be a major industry and public safety concern. The 1995 FHWA-sponsored Truck and Bus Safety Summit, attended by over 200 national leaders in CMV and highway safety, including a large contingent of drivers, identified driver fatigue as the top priority CMV safety issue. Accordingly, the fatigue issue dominates current FHWA-sponsored human factors research on CMV driving safety.
The primary goal of the Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study was to observe and measure the development and progression of driver fatigue and loss of alertness, and to develop countermeasures to address it, through a field study undertaken within the framework of a realistic driving environment. To accomplish this goal, several objectives were established:
Secondary goals of the research were to investigate the potential for utilizing elements of the vehicle- and driver-based measurements in the development of a system for monitoring or predicting changes in driver alertness; to identify an effective subset of data types to improve the efficiency and economy of conducting future fatigue research in field settings; and to provide a data set that could be used for validating future fatigue research using driving simulators.
The methodology and conduct of the DFAS reflected the research objectives described above. The study investigated, in an operational context, a number of work-related factors thought to be related to the development of fatigue and loss of alertness and degraded performance in CMV drivers. These factors included:
Eighty (80) properly qualified male CMV drivers between the ages of 25 and 65 served as subjects in this study. Drivers had to have at least one year of experience driving Class 8 (33,001 pounds and over) tractor trailer combination vehicles and they had to be medically qualified and free from controlled substances and alcohol.
The study employed a between-subjects design involving four driving schedule conditions. Four different groups of 20 subjects drove in the following schedule conditions, selected to represent four contrasting driving schedules in terms of fatigue-related factors such as time-on-task, schedule regularity, and day versus night driving:
Altogether, there were 360 trips and about 4,000 hours of driving, distributed more or less evenly across the four conditions. Conditions 1 and 2 took place in the U.S. between the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri. Conditions 3 and 4 took place in Canada between the cities of Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. The study design was developed to comply with existing U.S. and Canadian hours-of-service regulations.
The four schedules provided different amounts of time off between trips. Condition 1 provided about 11 hours off, while the other three conditions provided about 8 hours off.
Conventional Class 8 truck tractors from each participating motor carrier were outfitted with on-board monitoring equipment and a data acquisition computer. Tractors included both single-drive-axle and tandem-drive-axle designs. Trailer configurations included both single semitrailers (45', 48', and 53') and twin 28' trailers. All participating drivers were completely familiar with their assigned vehicles.
Numerous measures were taken of drivers' physiology, alertness, and performance during driving and of their physiology during off-duty sleep. Many data elements were collected simultaneously, and all data were time-stamped to aid in analysis. Measures collected for each subject included:
Lane tracking (collected using a device that measured the tractor's lateral position relative to lane markings) Steering wheel movement
Code Substitution (a cognitive test involving number/letter substitution) Critical Tracking Test (a test of hand-eye coordination, requiring a pointer moving in an unpredictable manner to be kept at the center of a display) Simple Response Vigilance Test (a test of vigilance and reaction time).
Polysomnography (PSG) during sleep Electroencephalogram (EEG) using clinical-type scalp electrodes Electrooculogram (EOG); electrodes placed at left and right outer canthi (corner of the eyes) Electromyogram (EMG); electrodes placed on chin Respiratory airflow (nasal sensor) Respiratory effort (sensors on chest) Oxygen saturation of arterial blood (finger probe). PSG during driving (EEG and EOG only). Body temperature during waking hours (obtained using an infrared ear probe) Electrocardiography (ECG) during driving and sleep.
Pre-participation questionnaire on sleep habits Daily log (stops, meals, noteworthy driving events, etc.) Stanford Sleepiness Scale rating (a self-assessment of fatigue and mood).
The study developed a massive database which covers more than 200,000 miles of driving. It includes some 4,000 hours of video data, 9,000 hours of physiological recordings, and 700 megabytes of real-time truck computer records. Close to a year was needed to clean the raw field data and to enter them into a complete project data base. Standard protocols were used for converting raw data into meaningful metrics; for example, the PSG sleep data were scored manually using standard clinical criteria to assign sleep stages. Statistical analysis focused on comparisons of group means to evaluate the effects of driving schedule (and related factors such as hours of sleep) for a variety of dependent measures of driver alertness and performance (as listed above). In addition, instances of drowsiness during driving were identified and analyzed. Initial comprehensive reviews were done by two research teams working independently to assess the physiological and driving-performance data. The results of these reviews were then compared to clearly document these events.
The strengths of the methodology of the DFAS were in its naturalistic approach (i.e., data collected during revenue-generating runs), the enormous volume of data collected, and in the comprehensiveness of the measurements. The limitations of the study relate primarily to the lack of full control over the full range of conditions affecting alertness and fatigue and the inability to isolate some factors due to unavoidable confounding of variables, a consequence of the naturalistic approach to the study. For example, a comparison of Condition 1 (10-hour daytime) and Condition 3 (13-hour nightstart) shows that the conditions differ in several important ways: number of continuous hours of driving, percent of night driving, and number of hours off-duty. In addition, the combination of the inherent variability of the real world environment and the between-subjects design meant that there was more uncontrolled variability ("noise") in the data than would be found in a study performed within a laboratory setting or a study-controlled driving environment, or one employing a within-subjects design. The study's analysis methodology included assessments of the consistency and inconsistency of results from different measures.
Project findings are reported below as they relate to major issues.
The strongest and most consistent factor influencing driver fatigue and alertness in this study was time of day. Drowsiness, as observed in video recordings of the driver's face, was markedly greater during night driving than during daytime driving. Peak drowsiness occurred during the 8 hours from late evening until dawn.
Night driving (e.g., from midnight to dawn) was associated with worse performance on four important criteria (proportion of video-drowsy analysis periods, average lane tracking standard deviation, incremental differences in Code Substitution test scores between the outbound and inbound segments of a trip, and average physiologically-measured total sleep obtained during the principal sleep period prior to a trip). Time of day was a much better predictor of decreased driving performance than hours of driving (time-on-task) or the cumulative number of trips made.
Hours of driving (time-on-task) was not a strong or consistent predictor of observed fatigue. Most notably, there was no difference in the amount (prevalence) of drowsiness observed in video records of comparable daytime segments of the 10-hour and the 13-hour trips. Nighttime segments could not be similarly analyzed because the study design did not provide for this comparison.
Lane tracking performance was better in the 10-hour than the 13-hour conditions. The reasons for this are not completely clear because of confounding factors associated with different routes and vehicles.
In the surrogate tests, cognitive performance (via Code Substitution) was better in the 10-hour conditions. Vigilance and reaction time (via Simple Response Vigilance Test) were better in the 13-hour conditions (probably because of loss of display contrast associated with greater amounts of sunlight in the 10-hour conditions). Hand-eye coordination (via Critical Tracking Test) did not show condition-related variation.
There was little correlation between Stanford Sleepiness Scale self-ratings and objective performance test scores. However, self-ratings of fatigue level on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale correlated positively with time-on-task, indicating that drivers may have the feeling of increasing fatigue with increasing time-on-task even if there are no strong performance changes.
There was some evidence of cumulative fatigue across days of driving. For example, performance on the Simple Response Vigilance Test declined during the last days of all four conditions. Also, drivers tended to rate themselves as more fatigued across multiple trips. However, cumulative number of trips was neither a strong nor consistent predictor of fatigue across different measures. Although more apparent drowsiness was noted in video recordings made in the last two trips of Condition 2 (10-hour rotating), those trips were, on the average, driven at night (see statement above concerning night driving). The Stanford Sleepiness Scale self-ratings of sleepiness increased as drivers progressed through successive trips within Condition 2, but the trends were unclear in Condition 3 (13-hour nightstart) and Condition 4 (13-hour daystart).
Overall, drivers obtained about 2 hours less time in bed and 2.5 hours less actual sleep than their reported "ideal" daily amount of sleep. The drivers reported an average "ideal" 7.2 hours per principal sleep period on a questionnaire completed before their first sleep at the sleep lab; the average observed time in bed over the course of the study was 5.2 hours. (Although the drivers reported what they considered to be their "ideal" sleep time, they were not asked, and it is not known, whether they usually obtained this stated amount.) For the four conditions, the average times in bed and clinically-measured sleep times were:
The observed shortfall could have been due, in part, to a reduction in free time due to requirements of the study protocol. The study setting also created an opportunity for socializing with other drivers that might not exist in normal driving. In addition, some drivers did not always organize their off-duty time wisely to obtain the maximum possible sleep. Time-in-bed was lowest for the three Conditions (2, 3, and 4) that permitted the least off-duty time (about 8.6 to 8.9 hours on average, excluding time required for the study protocol). Nevertheless, even in Condition 1, which permitted about 10.7 hours off-duty between trips, the average time-in-bed and time asleep were only 5.8 and 5.4 hours, respectively.
The lower ratio of sleep time to time in bed for Condition C3 (13-hour nightstart) may reflect circadian disruptions of sleep pattern in comparison with the other conditions. This condition was the only one that consistently required drivers to sleep during the daytime.
The quantity of sleep obtained by the subjects in their principal sleep periods was low. As noted above, drivers obtained an average of about 2 hours less sleep than their daily "ideal" requirements. The average time-in-bed during the principal sleep period (i.e., not including naps, which are addressed below) was 5.2 hours versus a self-reported daily "ideal" of 7.2 hours. The shortest average time-in-bed (4.4 hours) was associated with Condition 3 (13-hour nightstart); these drivers had about 8.6 off-duty hours daily beginning at about noon.
All of the drivers obtained efficient, normally-structured sleep as judged by formal clinical criteria. Of the 5.2 average hours in bed, the drivers were actually asleep for an average of 4.8 hours. The average sleep efficiency (sleep time/time-in-bed) was 0.92; levels above 0.90 are often observed in people who have no trouble sleeping and in people who are sleep deprived. The average amount of time awake after sleep commenced was 25 minutes; this value is considered low relative to values in the normal range (less than 60 minutes for adult men) and is also consistent with reduced time in bed and with sleep deprivation.
The requirements of the study may have contributed somewhat to driver sleep deprivation, but the overall effect appears to be due to a combination of insufficient opportunity for sleep, and the failure of drivers to place a high enough priority on obtaining sufficient sleep.
Video ratings were much more sensitive for detecting drowsiness while driving than were polysomnographic (PSG) measures. The 4,000 hours of video recordings were systematically sampled at 30-minute intervals. Drowsy episodes discovered were judged in 6-minute periods from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after their occurrence. Approximately 4.9% of the sampled face video segments were scored as drowsy based on trained reviewers' assessment of such factors as eye movement, eyelid position, yawns, stretches, and startles. The proportions of video data scored drowsy were much greater at night than during the day or evening. Fourteen percent of drivers accounted for 54% of all observed drowsiness episodes.
All EEG and EOG data were analyzed. PSG analysis indicated that there were two trips, involving different drivers (an incidence of about 0.6 % of observed trips and about 2.5 % of observed drivers), that included a number of intermittent episodes that were identified as PSG-Drowsy Driving. These periods amounted to just over 19 minutes out of the 244,667 minutes of driving analyzed (0.008%). During these periods, the drivers' data presented EEG and EOG patterns that would have been consistent with clinical criteria for Stage 1 sleep (the initial, shallowest, sleep stage) if the drivers had been in bed in a dark room. Face-video records during these periods also showed driver drowsiness. The EEG measurement may have revealed a worse (by comparison with the face-video judgments) and infrequently-occurring condition. However, these differences may be reflective of the relative sensitivities of the two methods of detecting drowsy driving.
A comparison of steering and lane tracking performance for video-rated drowsy versus non-drowsy epochs indicated that drowsiness was associated with more erratic steering (greater steering wheel angle variability) and poorer lane tracking (increased standard deviation of lane position), both of which have obvious implications for driving safety.
Not surprisingly, there was a negative correlation between the length of the principal sleep period and amount of drowsiness during the next driving trip (e.g., more sleep leads to less drowsiness). However, it was not possible to estimate the "normal" level of drowsiness during driving since there were no conditions where all drivers obtained adequate sleep.
Although there were video, PSG, and driving performance indications of driver drowsiness, there were no crashes during the study.
Of the 80 drivers, 35 (44%) took at least one nap during a duty cycle that contained clinically-scorable sleep. Drivers who elected to nap increased their sleep obtained in principal sleep periods by an average of 27 minutes which amounted to an 11% increase in average daily sleep time. Drowsiness, as evident in face video recordings, was often a precursor to the driver deciding to take a nap. Thus it appeared that this behavior was replacement or compensatory napping, taken in response to self-perceived sleepiness.
Because 45 of the drivers did not nap, and there were only 63 naps taken over the 360 trips in the study, no analyses were performed to determine whether these driver naps resulted in post-nap improvement in alertness and performance. This is one of many important questions which might be addressed by future analysis of the data collected in the DFAS.
In the 10-hour conditions (Conditions 1 and 2), drivers self-administered the surrogate performance tests both at the beginning and the end of their mid-trip turnaround break. The only test demonstrating improved post-break performance was the Code Substitution test. The other performance tests failed to show a statistically-significant recovery effect.
There was little correlation between driver subjective self-ratings of alertness/sleepiness and concurrent objective performance measures. It appears that drivers are not very good at assessing their own levels of alertness; there was a tendency for drivers to rate themselves as more alert than the performance tests indicated.
On the other hand, there was a positive correlation between self-ratings of fatigue and both the number of hours of driving within a trip and the cumulative number of trips made. Perhaps these factors affected the experience of fatigue, reflecting increasing stress or compensatory effort rather than objective performance. Or, perhaps drivers were basing their self-ratings in part on a logical expectation that these factors would increase fatigue and they would thus be led to respond in kind as they selected their Stanford Sleepiness Scale rating. If the latter explanation were true, drivers would in effect be saying to themselves, "If I've been driving for a long time, then I must be tired."
Self-ratings did not correlate significantly with trip segments ranked according to percent of night driving, even though performance measures showed significantly reduced performance at night than during the day. If the "expectation" explanation of driving self-ratings in the previous paragraph is correct, a disturbing corollary would be that drivers had no expectation that night driving would be associated with reduced performance, when in fact these performance reductions are significant.
There were large individual differences among drivers in levels of alertness and performance. For example, there was a wide variation in the total number of episodes judged drowsy in the video records. Thirty-six percent (36%) of the drivers were never judged drowsy; of the remainder, 77% (49% of the total) were judged drowsy 10 or fewer times, and 23% (15% of the total) were judged drowsy more than 10 times. Among the drivers with more than 10 drowsiness episodes, the number of drowsy episodes ranged from 12 to 40, with an average of 22 episodes during their 4-5 day participation period.
A further illustration of the wide individual differences among drivers is the fact that 11 of the 80 drivers (14%) accounted for 54% of all observed drowsiness episodes.
This study did not track the subjects over extended periods of time to determine if the same drivers showing frequent drowsiness during the week of the study would show frequent drowsiness weeks or months later. Thus, it cannot be discerned whether the observed individual differences were reflective of driver traits (i.e., long-term, stable individual differences in physiology and/or performance) or of driver states (short-term differences related to recent sleep or other transient events). Of course, both traits and states may be operative. Future research should address the trait versus state issue because it has implications for the potential effectiveness of improved driver selection, scheduling, and training as fatigue countermeasures.
In general, differences in driver alertness among the four driving schedules (study conditions), as observed and measured by various driving performance and physiological means, appeared to reflect differences in amount of night driving, rather than other factors such as differences in continuous driving time. There was no difference in the amount of drowsiness observed in the video data during comparable (i.e., daytime) trip segments of the 10-hour and 13-hour trips. Night-driving segments could not be similarly compared on a trip-by-trip basis because only the last two trips of Condition 2 (10-hour rotating) were driven through the night.
Condition 3 (13-hour nightstart) was associated with the shortest sleep latencies (time required to fall asleep after going to bed), further indicating that these drivers received less sleep than they needed. Further, the small amount of sleep obtained by Condition 3 drivers may have exacerbated the degraded performance observed at night in the study, since those drivers performed the greatest proportional amount of night driving.
Although this study was not designed to determine a population prevalence, analysis of subject sleep revealed that two of the 80 drivers (2.5%) had clinically-diagnosable apnea, a sleep disorder characterized by breathing cessations. The driving performance of these two individuals was not statistically different from that of other comparable drivers in the study.
No significant relationships were found between driver age and fatigue. There were no consistent differences between older and younger drivers in terms of observed drowsiness, frequency of naps, self-ratings, or driving performance. Older drivers performed more poorly on the Code Substitution test than younger drivers, but this effect was not fatigue-related. In order to control for this effect, the Code Substitution data were grouped by driver age so that the general age difference in performance did not confound other comparisons.
Although the DFAS was not designed specifically to support the development of technological countermeasures, the findings of the study are supportive of their feasibility. Of the surrogate performance tests employed, the Simple Response Vigilance Test demonstrated the most promise in detecting fatigue as it might develop during the course of a trip or cumulatively across trips. Although the sensitivity of this test to ambient light level, as found in this study, must be reduced, surrogate tests might be used as part of fitness-for-duty testing approaches to detecting driver fatigue.
Changes in driving performance, measured by increased variability in steering and lane tracking, were shown to be correlated with drowsiness as judged in video observations of the driver's face. The correlation between drowsiness and degraded driving performance supports the concept of continuous monitoring of driver performance to detect fatigue. A related and complementary approach to performance monitoring is to directly measure psychophysiological changes such as the eyelid droop seen in face videos of drowsy drivers or various PSG indices of reduced alertness. The DOT and other agencies and organizations are sponsoring a wide range of research on technological fatigue-detection and prevention countermeasures. Fitness-for-duty (readiness-to-perform) testing and continuous driver monitoring approaches are both being assessed. At the same time, driving performance is also influenced by the design and condition of the roadway, by the characteristics of the vehicle being driven, and by the number and location of other vehicles sharing the roadway. Those influences must be accounted for in the development of continuous-monitoring systems.
The study also sought to identify any behavioral methods used by drivers to ward off fatigue. Napping was a frequent driver-initiated response to drowsiness and fatigue. The alertness-enhancing effects of napping have been demonstrated in other operator performance settings (e.g., commercial aviation) and should be the subject of future research, including additional analysis of the DFAS database. Other methods will be reported in the countermeasures survey.
The highly significant time-of-day effects on fatigue demonstrate that scheduling may be an important countermeasure to CMV driver fatigue. From the driver fatigue and alertness standpoint, the optimal schedule is one that appropriately manages night driving. There are no known highway transportation hours-of-service regulations in the world that address time-of-day effect, even though shiftwork literature for many years has pointed out a strong relationship between time of day and accidents and incidents.
It cannot be concluded, however, that shifting truck traffic to daylight hours would result in lower accident rates. This measure would increase daytime traffic congestion, possibly with a corresponding increase in accidents, and would further increase the risk of accidents with passenger vehicles which are more vulnerable in accidents with trucks because of their difference in mass. Research is needed to establish the relative risks of accidents between day and night driving for a variety of road and vehicle types, and levels of traffic density, to establish the net impacts on highway safety of day/night scheduling practices.
Another key to enhanced scheduling at the fleet level may be the finding of large individual differences in susceptibility to drowsiness while driving, as noted in this study. It appears that some drivers may be much better than others at maintaining alertness in the long-haul CMV environment, especially at night -- a potential basis for driver selection and assignments of runs should future research prove that these individual differences are consistent over time.
Two major project findings relevant to driver education were the generally inadequate amounts of sleep obtained by the driver subjects and the strong tendency for drowsiness to be most associated with nighttime circadian effects. Drivers need to be educated about how to obtain more sleep, especially if they will drive at night. Further, study findings showed that drivers were generally poor judges of their own levels of fatigue/alertness. This finding indicates a need to train drivers to better assess their current levels of fatigue while driving, perhaps by learning to become more conscious of changes in their physical state and subtle changes in their driving performance.
There is no quick fix and no single solution to the fatigue problem. Sleep is the principal countermeasure to fatigue. All drivers need to ensure that they obtain adequate sleep. Drivers must also be afforded the opportunity to obtain adequate sleep.
Changes in the hours-of-service regulations alone will not solve the fatigue problem. Much can be done to address driver fatigue through a combination of innovative hours-of-service regulation and enforcement, education, driver work scheduling, innovative fatigue management programs, driver screening, fitness for duty and alertness monitoring systems, and additional research.
Partnerships among government, industry, drivers, safety groups, the scientific community, and shippers are needed for effective solutions to the commercial motor vehicle driver fatigue problem.
The DFAS demonstrated that it is possible to conduct a field study with substantial numbers of commercial drivers (80), hauling revenue freight on many trips (360), employing instrumentation to record numerous aspects of vehicle control, surrogate test performance, driver physiology, face and road video, and sleep studies for each principal sleep period. This was accomplished without any motor vehicle crashes or other harm to the study subjects or other participants. The data collected have been used to document a number of fundamental characteristics of driver fatigue and alertness and the archived DFAS database will continue to support analyses of additional questions over the coming years.
Driver drowsiness/fatigue has become the dominant human factors research issue relating to CMV transportation. For example, the FHWA/OMC currently sponsors more than a dozen research and education/outreach projects relating to CMV driver drowsiness/fatigue. Recently completed, current, or planned fatigue-related research includes studies on work, rest and recovery; sleep apnea; multi-trailer vehicle driver stress and fatigue; highway rest areas; use of on-board recorders for hours-of-service and other regulatory compliance; driver fitness-for-duty testing; other technological fatigue countermeasures; fatigue education for driver and other CMV-related personnel; fleet-based driver wellness; the role of shippers and receivers in HOS violations; scheduling practices and fatigue; safety analysis of HOS "restart" options; sleeper berth usage and fatigue; local/short-haul driver fatigue; loading/unloading and fatigue; and improved crash causation analysis. Many of these studies will build upon the research techniques developed, practical lessons learned, and scientific knowledge gained from the DFAS.
A separate report, to be published under the sponsorship of Transport Canada and the Canadian Trucking Research Institute of the Canadian Trucking Association, will present the results and analysis of an additional field study that was performed in coordination with this one. The data base in the Canadian study covers an additional 55 trips performed under various driving and days-off schedules lasting up to 10 days. That study will provide additional information to build on the results of this study, including results on the influence of different durations of multi-day off-duty periods.
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Shots - Health News Overlooked Virus May Be Cause Of Paralyzing Disease In California February 25, 2014 Doctors have diagnosed a handful of children with a polio-like disease that can paralyze an arm or a leg. The culprit may be a rare virus first detected in California more than 50 years ago.
Shots - Health News From Millions Of Cases To 148: Guinea Worm's Days Are Numbered January 16, 2014 Years of effort to wipe out the Guinea worm parasite in Africa is paying off. Last year the number of cases dropped to a record low — 148, compared to millions in the 1980s. But war is complicating the low-tech efforts needed to stop spread of the infection.
Shots - Health News They Shot For Zero, But Couldn't Squash Polio In 2013 December 15, 2013 This year was on track for a record-low number of polio cases. But polio pushed back hard. It reappeared in some places and spiked in others. Still, global health officials remain confident that polio can be defeated soon. Listen Loading… 5:02 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News As Polio Spreads In Syria, Politics Thwarts Vaccination Efforts December 2, 2013 The polio outbreak in Syria has spread to four cities, and new cases are suspected each day. But U.N. agencies responsible for combating the outbreak can work only with the Syrian government. This limitation has hobbled vaccination efforts in rebel-held regions, where the virus was first detected. Listen Loading… 4:49 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News Polio In The Middle East And Africa Could Threaten Europe November 8, 2013 The recent discovery of polio in Syria and Israel should be a wake-up call to European health officials, scientists say. Low vaccination rates in some regions could offer the crippling virus a chance to reenter Europe and possibly gain a foothold. Vaccines used there also make it more likely that people can spread the virus.
Shots - Health News Polio Has Not Returned To South Sudan, After All October 31, 2013 Health officials said that they were mistaken about a polio outbreak in Somalia spreading to South Sudan. Despite previous reports, South Sudan has not recorded any polio cases this year. The new information means that the spread of the virus around the Horn of Africa is more limited than previously thought.
Shots - Health News Violence, Chaos Let Polio Creep Back Into Syria And Horn Of Africa October 30, 2013 The number of polio cases globally sank to an all-time low in 2012. But outbreaks in Syria and Somalia this year are jeopardizing efforts to eradicate the virus. A recent visit to the Somali-Ethiopian border highlights just how easily polio can regain a foothold in rural, insecure communities. Listen Loading… 7:46 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News How The World Backed Polio Into A Corner October 27, 2013 Just a few decades ago, polio was crippling more than a thousand children each day. Now the paralyzing virus remains endemic to only three countries. A timeline shows how polio went from one of the most feared illnesses to a disease on the ropes.
Shots - Health News First Polio Cases Since 1999 Suspected In Syria October 21, 2013 Syria used to have one of the highest rates of polio vaccinations in the region. But since the civil war began, rates have plummeted. Now the crippling virus has likely returned to the country, health officials say. Initial tests indicate that polio has paralyzed at least two children. Listen Loading… 3:10 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News Shifting Resources To Front Lines Could Protect Polio Workers October 8, 2013 Bombs targeting polio vaccinators have threatened the global effort to stamp out the disease once and for all. The attacks are likely to continue, researchers warned, unless there's a change in eradication strategy toward local action.
Shots - Health News Israel Rushes To Stop Polio From Returning September 2, 2013 After being free of polio for decades, Israel has detected the virus in sewers across the country. No children have become ill. But health officials are worried that polio has regained a foothold in Israel. Listen Loading… 3:35 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News Last Person To Get Smallpox Dedicated His Life To Ending Polio July 31, 2013 In the 1970s, Ali Maow Maalin, a Somali hospital worker, was the last member of the general public to catch smallpox — worldwide. Once recovered, he worked for years to wipe out polio in Somalia. Maalin, called "an inspiration" by world health leaders, died unexpectedly last week.
Shots - Health News Polio Eradication Suffers A Setback As Somali Outbreak Worsens July 20, 2013 Somalia now has the dubious distinction of having the worst polio outbreak in the world. The country had been polio-free since 2007. If this outbreak gains a foothold, health workers fear it could spread into the Middle East. Listen Loading… 4:09 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News Polio Outbreak In Somalia Jeopardizes Global Eradication June 28, 2013 The world is closer than ever to wiping out polio. But a growing outbreak in the Horn of Africa has health workers worried that the virus could spread to surrounding regions. Thirty-one kids have been paralyzed by the poliovirus in the past two months, and the number is expected to rise. Listen Loading… 2:41 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News Polio Outbreak In Kenya: A Threat To Global Eradication May 22, 2013 A handful of polio infections in Kenya and Somalia could set back efforts to wipe out the virus worldwide, health workers warned Wednesday. The last time there was polio in this region, the virus spread throughout the Horn of Africa into the Middle East and eventually into Indonesia.
Shots - Health News Why Bill Gates Thinks Ending Polio Is Worth It May 8, 2013 The Microsoft founder and philanthropist is putting his money and time where his passion is: eradicating polio. Gates talks with NPR's Robert Siegel about why it makes sense to spend an estimated $5.5 billion to wipe out the disease once and for all. Listen Loading… 7:38 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News A $5.5 Billion Road Map To Banish Polio Forever April 26, 2013 The World Health Organization released a six-year plan to wipe out the remaining pockets of polio and ensure the virus doesn't come back. With fewer than 20 polio cases so far this year, the world is closer than ever before to eradicating polio. Listen Loading… 3:58 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News How To Get Rid Of Polio For Good? There's A $5 Billion Plan April 2, 2013 Last year there were just over 200 cases of polio in remote parts of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now, a new $5.5 billion plan aims to eliminate the disease for good by 2018. Listen Loading… 3:28 Download Playlist
Shots - Health News Attacks On Health Workers Put Fight To End Polio Under Fire February 12, 2013 The world is close to wiping out polio, as the number of new cases is at an all-time low. But recent violence against polio vaccinators threatens to reverse this progress. Recently, gunmen killed nine polio vaccinators in Nigeria, mirroring attacks in Pakistan in December.
The Two-Way U.N. Drops Out Of Polio Vaccinations In Pakistan Following Shootings December 20, 2012 Pakistan temporarily halts the polio vaccination program after at least eight health workers are murdered while inoculating children.
Shots - Health News A Polio Outbreak In Pakistan Reveals Gaps In Vaccination December 4, 2012 The appearance of an unusual type of poliovirus in Pakistan exposed gaps in vaccination campaigns. When a community isn't well immunized against polio, the weakened virus used in the oral vaccine can mutate and then infect unvaccinated people.
Shots - Health News Pakistan Reaches A Milestone In Ending Polio November 14, 2012 Pakistan is close to eradicating one of the last two remaining types of polio left in the country, researchers announced on Monday. They haven't seen a case of this type in nearly seven months. Health workers are cautiously optimistic that their extra vaccination efforts are starting to pay off.
Shots - Health News Polio Hides Out In A Few 'Sanctuaries' In Nigeria November 8, 2012 Despite intensified efforts to vaccinate kids in Nigeria, polio cases are on the rise there. It's one of the last places in the world where polio is endemic. Most cases are popping up in a few communities that are now the prime targets for public health workers.
Shots - Health News How Does The Polio Vaccine Reach A Remote Corner Of The World? October 24, 2012 We're right on the verge of wiping out polio globally. But to do that, children in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan must be inoculated with the heat-sensitive vaccine — not once, but multiple times. Time to call in the donkeys.


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Nemo Cosmo Air Insulated Sleeping Pad
DECENT FEATURES of the Nemo Cosmo Air Insulated Sleeping Pad
- 75D polyester fabric laminated with polymer film keeps fabric airtight and promotes high weld strength
- An integrated foot pump in Cosmo gives your lungs a rest
- Cosmo Insulated has a layer of PrimaLoft insulation for consistent and even insulation
- Cosmo pads pack small and offer big comfort in a tiny package
The SPECS of the Nemo Cosmo Air Insulated Sleeping Pad
- Minimum Weight: 2 lbs 2 oz / 966 g
- Minimum Temperature Zone: 10° to 20° F / -12° to -6° C
- Width: 25" / 64 cm
- Length: 76" / 193 cm
- Thickness: 3" / 8 cm
- Packed Dimension: 9 x 6.5
- Diameter: 23 x 17 cm
- 75D Polyester
- Insulation: PrimaLoft
OVERSIZE ITEM: We cannot ship this product by any expedited shipping method (3-Day, 2-Day or Next Day). Even if you pick that option, it will still go Ground Shipping. Sorry for being so mean.
This product can only be shipped within the United States. Please don't hate us.
Nemo products cannot be shipped to Japan. Please don't hate us.


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Bugongo is a platform game, where the player plays as a little green dragon who tries to chase and defend his egg from the dangerous green hills of his world! Main feature of the game is that the player will not control only Bugongo but even the egg, that will roll without stopping through the various levels! - 20+ addicting levels - 57 hidden Golden Eggs - 15 unlockable Medals - 3 Egg's Power Up - Giant Bosses
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