You beat me to it CS...
Four-balls, your thoughts are all well and good in a perfect world, however that's not where I live and work!
CS, my answer to your hypothetical is: "why would I go to work and risk being stood down WITHOUT PAY, when I can go sick, stay home, and get paid? That's not to mention the stigma that would certainly stem from a positive result".
You have identified one good example of the flaws in this arrangement - there are many others I'm sure.
I'm not suggesting that NOTHING should be done, or that substance abusers should be allowed to populate the industry, but I simply do not think that any of this really has merit. I have never been convinced by any of the wishy-washy reasoning put forward for it all in the first place, and naturally the cost is borne by the industry.
Now that it is in, I am looking forward to see exactly how many potential menaces to the travelling public are filtered from the workplace by this random testing.
I also look forward to the "8 hour" rule being removed - I can have a beer (maybe two!) at lunch (say, 13:00), have a snooze, and sign on at 18:00 with a zero BAC and in breach of NOTHING.
I can have some wine after dinner in the evening, say three glasses, all done by 23:30, hit the hay and report for duty at 06:00 - again, zero BAC and in breach of NOTHING (except the reg that says "thou shalt not have a life!" - what number is that one again?!)
CASA you can't have your cake and eat it too (but no doubt you will try)
What do you guys think?
CR.
P.S. Yeah, I love a drink, but not where it gives me any BAC whilst at work!!