Sleep

...ba href=/sleep/a/b is not only the law but keeps him safe.

Pinon said, "Right now I'm running team.

He's aba href=/sleep/a/b right now and when I'm done with my shift, he'll get up and he'll start driving." MDOT says truckers are allowed to be behind the wheel up to 14 hours a day and then required 10 hours of ba href=/sleep/a/b.

The agency's law enforcement chief Willie huff says factors like fatigue cause a number of accidents, but most 18 wheeler wrecks are the result of passenger cars cutting in front of trucks, or driving in their blind spots or no zones.

Huff said, "He's got a load back there.

Even if it's loaded properly that could shift, that could cause weight difference that could cause that vehicle to over react to his minor motions to dodge your vehicle." Steve Pinon added, "When you pull in front of a truck it takes about a football field for the truck to stop." One hundred MDOT law enforcement vehicles are monitoring these trucks statewide.

MDOT's law enforcement director said, "When we inspect a truck we look at the log book and examine it.

We look at the fuel sticker or fuel purchases, see where it was and try to compare it back to the log book." Officials say one out of every four vehicles on the road is an 18 wheeler, and if you can't see their mirrors, they can not see you.

One thousand 136 tractor trailers were involved in fatal crashes in the state in 2004.

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...ba href=/sleep/a/b.

He or she will be tired the first day, but will quickly adjust to the time zone of the destination for better ba href=/sleep/a/b the remainder of the trip. “The easiest way to get sick is to get really worn down,” Fry said. Drinking plenty of water is important, but so is knowing where that water is coming from, both agents noted.

Different locations have varying standards levels of bacteria in water, which may not affect local people, but which can make visitors very ill.

Walker said in Mexico, most hotels have good water filtration systems, so the tap water is safe to use and drink. No matter the destination, Fry said, it never hurts to ask about water filtration at lodgings. “If it’s not purified, don’t even brush your teeth with it,” Fry said. It is recommended while traveling abroad, vacationers drink bottled water and other beverages.

When ordering at a restaurant, ask about whether the ice is made with filtered water, or order drinks without ice.

At open-air markets, the agents stressed eating only produce travelers have cleaned and peeled themselves.

Street vendors are an appealing sight, but their food is considered more risky than that at establishments with running water and refrigeration.

Venturing out of the hotel can also be a risk to personal safety if travelers are unfamiliar with the area.

Walker recommends vacationers ask at their hotel’s front desk for information on what areas are safe to explore. “Try to be street smart,” Walker said.

“I don’t care if you’re i...

...ba href=/sleep/a/bs and a city that don't ba href=/sleep/a/b — it just does not mix.

It's two different cultures," the 17-year-old said, comparing Houston with the more boisterous New Orleans.

She complained that the Katrina refugees are getting preferential treatment, even though some of her classmates are even poorer than they are.

Storm victims were taken on shopping sprees to buy clothes and were showered with other gifts after they arrived.

"I feel like they shouldn't have to use that as an excuse all the time, as like, `Oh, I'm an evacuee from New Orleans,' so you get this and you get that," Tatiana said.

Just after the August hurricane, the Harris County Hospital District, the agency that runs the public hospitals and health clinics in Houston and surrounding Harris County, treated 15,000 evacuees in two weeks at the Astrodome, but now sees about 800 extra patients a month, said spokesman Bryan McLeod.

The agency treats 1.2 million patients a year, so apart from the first few weeks, the number of evacuees is "not overwhelming" and is not delaying care for Houston residents, McLeod said.

Still, treating refugees has cost $11.6 million, and the district has been reimbursed only $1.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Medicaid, he said.

The district has dipped into reserve funds, he said.

Bus ridership at the Metropolitan Transit Authority was up 12 percent in October through December from the same period a year ago.

Spokeswoman Raequel Roberts attributed the increase...