Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Survey analyzes drivers by turn-signal use MERIDAN, Conn., March 21 (UPI) -- Fifty-seven percent of Americans admit to having personal reasons for not using turn signals while driving. Advertisement A recent survey of 1,000 adults, conducted by Response Insurance, found 23 percent of drivers admit they are just plain "lazy," while 17 percent don't signal because when they do, they forget to turn off the blinker. Twelve percent said they change lanes too frequently to bother with signals; 11 percent say signaling is unimportant; 8 percent say they don't signal because other drivers don't -- and 42 percent say they don't have enough time. A surprising 7 percent said driving without signaling "adds excitement." The company identified several driver-types when it comes to ignoring turn signals: Impulsive, Lazy, Forgetful, Swervers, Ostriches, Followers and the Dare Devils. The National Driving Habits Survey also indicated that men are more likely than women to forgo their signal when changing lanes (62 percent vs. 53 percent). Advertisement Among younger drivers (ages 18-24), 71 percent are apt not to signal, compared with 49 percent of older adults (ages 55-64). 'Healer' convicted of mermaid hoax HARARE, Zimbabwe, March 21 (UPI) -- A musician in Zimbabwe has been convicted of fleecing another woman by claiming to import mermaids from the spirit realm. A magistrate found that Edina Chizema, popularly known as Mbuya Madhuve, extorted 200 million Zimbabwean dollars -- about $200,000 U.S. -- from Margaret Mapfumo. Prosecutors said that Chizema claimed to be a traditional healer, the Chronicle of Zimbabwe reported. When Mapfumo was robbed of a car and cash, she was advised to seek help recovering her property. Chizema allegedly sought money to bring the mermaids to Zimbabwe and to put them up in a hotel. She also claimed she needed cell phones to communicate with them, prosecutors said. Chizema's demands gained force from a confederate, a man, who hid behind a curtain and echoed her. But the scheme fell apart when she hired a relative of Mapfumo. Prosecutors also said that Chizema was not a registered traditional healer. She claimed her certificate had been burned in a house fire. eBay nixes kilted doctor's charity date Advertisement BOSTON, March 21 (UPI) -- A Scottish doctor in Boston is miffed that the eBay Internet auction site has pulled his offer of a dinner date with him to raise money for Children's Hospital. Dr. David Patterson, a 33-year-old research assistant at the hospital, posted the offer last week with an opening bid of $50 for an evening, and sweetened it by offering to wear a kilt. By Friday, bids had surpassed $350, but then eBay took the posting down, the Boston Herald reported. Despite appeals from Patterson, the auction company said he had violated the company's adult material policy. "I thought it was really a lack of a sense of humor," said Patterson. "Because the money went to Children's Hospital, I feel they could have been a bit more generous about it." However, the feisty Scot isn't about to be held back, the newspaper said. Patterson plans to repeat the offer, but this time on rival Craigslist.com. Camp settles suit over barring diabetic WELLESLEY, Mass., March 21 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts day camp has agreed to settle a suit brought by the parents of a 7-year-old girl with diabetes who was barred from attending. Advertisement Town Sports International Inc. agreed to pay $25,000 to the girl, a resident of Wellesley, $20,000 to the Disability Center and $5,000 to the U.S. Justice Department, the Boston Globe reported. Kay Thompson and Quintus Medley, the girl's parents, say she had attended other camps and sports programs in Wellesley and nearby towns without incident. But in 2004 when she enrolled in Town Sports' summer program employees at first demanded more documentation and then said the condition was too complicated for them to handle. "I think it's good for her to know that we felt it was wrong and we were able to not let them get away with it," Thompson said. ''It shows that she can participate in these kinds of environments and she shouldn't accept being excluded." Thompson and Medley sued under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
