In the US, if the FAA's regulatory "authorities" were half as concerned about a pilot's true physiological condition (as it applies to flight safety), as it is about his/her having not the tiniest bit (trace) of alcohol or any other substance in the blood system, then the FAA would have changed the FAR 135/125 and 121 maximum duty period/minimum rest regulations decades ago.
Fortunately for regulatory authorities and accident boards, even a very minute amount of alcohol or other substances can sometimes be detected, but not the crushing day-to-day or nightly fatigue, which can result from very "legal" interpretations of the regs.
Are any PASSENGERS (self-loading freight) reading this topic?
Politicians?
