Last fall when Captain John Cota, the pilot of the Cosco Busan, a 900-foot vessel, smashed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, he had previously been convicted of drunken driving. Spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay, may have been his last wake-up call.
Cota suffers from glaucoma, sleep apnea and pancreatitis taking a host of medications to help with these diseases. Other medications he took included Imitrex for Migraines, Wellbutrin for depression, Provigil to help with the drowsiness he experienced during the day. He is entitled to earn a living wage. Just not at the expense of others and our environment.
Many people take mulitple medications to control Migraines, or other chronic conditions. That is not the issue here. When we take medication, do we look at the pill bottle and read the fine print? Does it say " DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES when taking this medication?" Does it say "MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS." Do we follow those instructions?
Sleep apnea, glaucoma, pancreatitis and prior DUI convictions, as in Cota's case, clearly didn't add up to a stellar performance. He has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence and violating environmental laws and refused to testify at the hearing. What does that tell you?
What do you think about this?
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Sources:
Associated Press. "Oil Spill Pilot's Record Indicated Problems." The New York Times. April 10, 2008.
Collins, Joseph. "Medical Report Shows Bay Pilot Was Suffering of Serious Medical Issues." eNews 2.0 April 10, 2008.
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