Posted By Alan Haynes The railways have a pretty secure policy on drugs and alcohol. See;- http://www.rgsonline.co..../Rail-41273/GERT8070.pdf However, before any process is introduced, you need to have discussed and agreed it with the workers reps [eg unions] Also, I'd suggest that it applies to Senior Management as well as Drivers etc - it seems [to the Drivers] a lot fairer that way.

Posted By David Bannister Hi Jackw, I'm surprised at the time to clear. My understanding is that one "unit" takes around 1 hour to clear. 4 pints = 8 units so even if all 4 pints are downed at 11pm, in 8 hours these should have cleared ie by 7am. Add to this the liver's work on the earlier drinks and the clearance time is shorter. Sad to say these days that if I were to consume 8 units in a night I know that my morning hangover would be sufficiently rough to preclude driving anyway. This is in no way supportive of drinking & driving - I have no tolerance of anyone who does that, nor sympathy if caught. In fact I can see the attractions of linking a vehicle ignition system to an in-car breathalyser unit! Now if only some bright-spark could invent the in-car stupid-driver detector...

Posted By Pete48 Karel, this area is just like all the others. Policy, organisation and arrangements is the road to a successful management programme. The benefits of random screening/testing are not universally beneficial either in preventing abuse or reducing the risks. However, a programme based on awareness, consultation and supportive co-operation is the one recommended by most including trade unions, HSE and ROSPA for example. Check out their websites for details. Remember also that the best policies always refer to all employees, managers etc and not just those who may drive at work. ( the cultural statement is important in areas like this) One last point, any policy in this area has very strong links with HR and is commonly designed and managed by HR with input from H&S. The numbers around how long alcohol takes to clear from the body are only indicators and are based on a healthy liver(??). I have always started with the same figures as David B and then advised adding a margin of error.

Posted By Karel Simpson The last thread sounds like a very interesting invention. Thank you to all that have contributed so far to this thread, it is appreciated.