Originally Posted by
pax britanica
To me it seems huge degree of hypocrisy over the likes of say pilots and train drivers being prosecuted or fired . Admittedly none of the people i listed can kill a couple of hundred people in a burning wreck but we have all read about over tired doctors making catastrophic mistakes, peoples lives wrecked by incorrect media reports, Who is to say someone hadn't had a few too many when signing of the spec on W London Tower block a few years ago. for example. Its hard to draw a line but I have felt that as a start any industry where some staff members are tested then everyone else has to be upto and including the CEO and in an era where people work very long hours more thought needs to be given to academic studies that show that most if not all human judgement and mental capacity is drastically reduced after 9-10 hours.
The Railway & Transport act was introduced in 2003. It didn't materialise out of thin air, every clause was written to solve some "issue" or another they thought society (that's you) was worried about. So if you don't like the law or think that a similar law should apply to others then I suggest you get busy; start a campaign group, lobby your MP, hell why not stand for parliament or donate a big enough wedge of cash to get someones manifesto to include the "Alcohol etc at work: editors, surgeons, MPs and others act 2019".
It is tragic that this has ended up this way but eight months seems in line with the sentences being handed around at the moment and remarkably consistent international sentencing considering different legal systems. Cases in the last year or so have results of Canada 8 months, Norway 6 months, Scotland 10 months.
Now for the positive. Drug and Alcohol treatment for pilots is fantastically effective and people who commit themselves to it recover to lead successful flying careers.
If you need help it is there.