Voyager Parties
There are much more stringent limits for civilian public transport workers including pilots, train drivers etc than the standard breathalyser limits. I believe that these now also apply in the military to everyone involved in flying activities.
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Is there actually a Mg limit for breath or blood testing aircrew laid down now then? The old no drinking within 50ft of the aircraft and moderate drinking in the 24 ft beyond that kind of rule did leave it open to interpretation and I’d guess make it harder to secure any conviction at a CM or in civilian court?
I believe it's only 9Mg per 100ml of breath for aircrew
See: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111100455
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Yep, and for various other 'safety critical' duties too.
35 microgrammes for most duties but down to 9 if you are doing something a bit more 'safety critical' then just 'run of the mill safety critical' if that makes any sense.
I'm not sure how that compares to civvy strasse - can anyone enlighten me?
35 microgrammes for most duties but down to 9 if you are doing something a bit more 'safety critical' then just 'run of the mill safety critical' if that makes any sense.
I'm not sure how that compares to civvy strasse - can anyone enlighten me?
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/20/contents
13mcg in a breath sample for all Railway Staff working in a safety critical role, includes drivers, conductors, signallers, control staff, technicians ... even the bod on the platform with whistle and lollipop.
Testing is done randomly (quotas per 4 week period for testing) and following any kind of safety incident, failure in 99.9% of cases means instant dismissal and forget getting any sort of job on the railway again.
From experience, most colleagues do not drink for 24 hrs before a shift, I dare some there are some there who will chance it but that's up to them. Although I'm not in an SC role I hold a Personal Track Safety card so could go trackside without notice, plus when travelling for work 'on the cushions' I am expected to assist the train crew in an emergency, therefore I leave the alcohol until Friday or Saturday evenings only unless I'm on call over the weekend when it's none at all.
If you talk to some of the old BR boys boozing used to be endemic until some spectacular accidents in the 60s and 70s. Folklore says that Tommy Bray (Mallards fireman on the world record run) shovelled around 7 tons of coal during the record run and drank an equivalent amount of beer afterwards!
Testing is done randomly (quotas per 4 week period for testing) and following any kind of safety incident, failure in 99.9% of cases means instant dismissal and forget getting any sort of job on the railway again.
From experience, most colleagues do not drink for 24 hrs before a shift, I dare some there are some there who will chance it but that's up to them. Although I'm not in an SC role I hold a Personal Track Safety card so could go trackside without notice, plus when travelling for work 'on the cushions' I am expected to assist the train crew in an emergency, therefore I leave the alcohol until Friday or Saturday evenings only unless I'm on call over the weekend when it's none at all.
If you talk to some of the old BR boys boozing used to be endemic until some spectacular accidents in the 60s and 70s. Folklore says that Tommy Bray (Mallards fireman on the world record run) shovelled around 7 tons of coal during the record run and drank an equivalent amount of beer afterwards!
When I was operating in Shenzhen, China, the oil company that had contracted us demanded a random breathalyser check once a week. There were no facilities in China, in fact no breathalysers, so we sent out teetotal chief engineer to Hong Kong once a week to do it there.
"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."
When I were a lad, drinking in the Met. Office was far from unknown. This included on duty ....... as recently as the 1970s I had colleagues, forecasters, bring a six-pack on night duty, and prepare TAFs and route forecasts and do 1000 bomber raid station briefs as a matter of course. The larger, mostly civil, offices with long Day shifts had liquid lunches. In retrospect, totally reprehensible.
Fortunately, my holy high moral stance was driven by medical problems, so I had a 24 hour rule until I hung up sea weed and fir -cone in favour of admin.
The big crack-down became possible when smoking in the office was banned: management had an opportunity to be hard-arsed and attempt to solve both problems at the same time. Needless to say, winning a popularity contest was unlikely.
Before anyone else makes the point, I am not at all sure that the forecasts by the sober out-performed those by the rat-arsed.
When I were a lad, drinking in the Met. Office was far from unknown. This included on duty ....... as recently as the 1970s I had colleagues, forecasters, bring a six-pack on night duty, and prepare TAFs and route forecasts and do 1000 bomber raid station briefs as a matter of course. The larger, mostly civil, offices with long Day shifts had liquid lunches. In retrospect, totally reprehensible.
Fortunately, my holy high moral stance was driven by medical problems, so I had a 24 hour rule until I hung up sea weed and fir -cone in favour of admin.
The big crack-down became possible when smoking in the office was banned: management had an opportunity to be hard-arsed and attempt to solve both problems at the same time. Needless to say, winning a popularity contest was unlikely.
Before anyone else makes the point, I am not at all sure that the forecasts by the sober out-performed those by the rat-arsed.
Last edited by langleybaston; 31st Aug 2020 at 19:50.
One morning at Akrotiri in the 1970s, an eagle-eyed local controller spotted a figure collapsed by the nose wheel of a Belfast that was due for departure. Medics and fire crews were dispatched to find that it was the captain, who, having spent the previous night in The Swan kebab house, had stopped to throw up during his walk round.
langleybaston
Brilliant! With an attitude like that, lb, do you think you could come back and advise the current Met Office? I'm sure they'd appreciate it....
airsound
I am not at all sure that the forecasts by the sober out-performed those by the rat-arsed.
airsound
I served under great men and women, proper meteorologists and scientists, with 40 year careers and Doctorates. Even if they did like a drop!
These days no way would three good A Levels give a platform for a career such as we old folk enjoyed. Besides that, the RAF that we served has changed beyond recognition.
Don't tempt me!
Tabs please !
Boozing at the Met Office ????? I remember a lunchtime birthday bash in "The Isobar" where a shapely young thing came into the bar dressed in her underwear but had balloons taped to every available surface. The birthday boy was then given a pin.
I don't think I did much that afternoon.
I don't think I did much that afternoon.
Only once stayed off base at Akrotiri. On the crew bus next morning, Nav Captain said to one of the siggies "God you look terrible - who were you drinking with last night?" "You, Sir" No more was said.
Thank you, but, to be fair, the present bunch do remarkably well, even if po-faced and political.
I served under great men and women, proper meteorologists and scientists, with 40 year careers and Doctorates. Even if they did like a drop!
These days no way would three good A Levels give a platform for a career such as we old folk enjoyed. Besides that, the RAF that we served has changed beyond recognition.
Don't tempt me!
I served under great men and women, proper meteorologists and scientists, with 40 year careers and Doctorates. Even if they did like a drop!
These days no way would three good A Levels give a platform for a career such as we old folk enjoyed. Besides that, the RAF that we served has changed beyond recognition.
Don't tempt me!
The only training course I ever attended in 30 years service where the bar was open (and used) was the Met Observer course at Shinfield.
Old Tom in charge behind the bar.
Breakspears draught. Smelt like sewage but after a couple who cared? The bar was in the lovely old Shinfield House, ex-Fighter Command minor HQ in the war, complete with Eagle statue.
The squirrels were semi-tame, and ate scraps from the students, and sometimes ate scraps of the students.
The Principal used my son and I, each with a 22 air rifle, to cull the little buggers. We would nominate a target, and fire simultaneously. Squirrels never knew what hit them. The other big perk was being near to Arborfield Garrison, complete with stables. Offspring could do the full Pony Club thing in exchange for shovelling sh1t and grooming. And free bags of sh1t when dad collected.
The Instructors at Shinfield had the best jobs in the organisation, and most were moved on after 3 or 4 years to retain real world currency. As in a demanding Wing Co Ops or Wing Co Flying.
Times have changed. In the early 1980's returning from a NATO Drink Ex err I mean EW course, a participant had over achieved at the end of course pub crawl. The next morning he was dragged to the taxi and decanted at the air base main gate were the Hercules home awaited. The only problem was the airplane was a fair distance away, however a fork lift with an empty pallet happened by. For a generous cash donation the driver agreed to have the the still unconscious guy flopped on the pallet and driven to the airplane were the pallet was slid on and secured. He woke up when it got really noisy and could not understand where he was, and why there why there was ratchet straps all over him !
At the time everyone thought the story was hilarious, god only knows what the fun police would do to all involved today......
At the time everyone thought the story was hilarious, god only knows what the fun police would do to all involved today......
Back in the day of the FI airbridge, the seasoned travellers would pop a couple of Mogadon (? sic), washed down with a mouthful or three of Famous Grouse, just after lift off and camp down in their green maggots on the rear ramp of the Herc. On this occasion the crew did some refuelling northbound to Ascension, not long after airborne, and they broke the probe.. So return to Stanley, whereupon the sleeping beauties on the ramp couldn't be roused, so they were unceremoniously dumped by eager beaver on to pallets on the pan. And then reloaded equally unceremoniously on to the replacement aircraft. When they eventually came to, they took some persuading that we'd turned around and re departed, and equally p@ssed off that they still had 8 hours to go.
Last edited by MENELAUS; 4th Sep 2020 at 13:44.
