police doing random breath tests

[jeffers999]

My mrs phoned me this morning on her way to work there where police on the motorway stopping every few cars doing breath tests,
I never ever drink drive and im very sure that everyone that i speak to on here dont either, But in all honesty i dont think they should be able to just stop people on there way to work for no reason and breath thest them.

Easy targits ..

So be warned if you have had a drink in the night i wouldnt chance driving at all..

 

[Nickynibbles]

I think they're main targets are people who've had drinks at works xmas parties the night before, then drive to work in the morning. Drinking anything & driving in my mind is just plain stupid but there needs to be an allowable low limit to allow for the fact someone might of had a couple of drinks at dinner the night before, zero tollerance cant work as there would always be a minute trace in tour system for hours after a drink. Plod do this kind of thing every year, at the end of the day they do have just suspicion for stopping people as there are so many people that fail breath tests at xmas.

Keep safe people, just dont do it!

 

[Beerzo]

I am totaly for this especially at this time of year. The way to look on it is if anything happend to your family (touchwood it doesnt) due to someone drink driving you may start on the Police. The best thing they can do it be out there being a pain in the **** so people at least think twice before doing it.
In Scotland now if your stopped for what ever reason your are now breathalised, regardless.

 

[205man]

i think its a bit underhand just random stopping innocent people but the problem is there are alot driving who arent and are way over the limit

personally i thinking having a total ban on drinking if you driving would be better, then theres never the argument that i can drive after a couple as it doesnt effect me etc.

but to encourage more drivers not to drink i think they should make soft drinks ****** cheaper in pubs, i can see why people would buy a pint of larger when when a pint of orange juice is dearer...............until you get caught loose your licence etc then it became an expensive lager

if your drinking then you dont drive end of story

 

[Beerzo]

Not sure on a total ban as peoples tollerances to drink are different as someone could hve 5 pints and be fine by 12 the next day then some could be still peckered but 6 the next day.

But people should be mature enough to do as you say, no drink no drive. I dont drive even after a half a can or bottle of Vodka( LOL Beer)

 

[AndyMac]

I'm all for random testing, but not sure about morning after testing. Yes you get idiots who stop drinking at 3am then are in the car to work the next day at 7am, but what about the guy who had a few beers the night before, goes to bed at 11pm and then is still over technically the limit at 10am the next day. His driving is not effected (he's not still drunk), but technically there's still alcohol in his system. TBH they've proved tiredness is far more dangerous and more common, and what about OAP drivers? Most display the symptoms of being ****** i.e. lack of judgement, poor vision etc and they're stone cold sober?
The danger is that by banning people for just failing morning after breath tests they'll once again be missing the point on why drink driving is dangerous, just like they have with speeding. Driving drunk is dangerous, driving with alcohol still in your system after a good nights sleep & a hearty breakfast, slightly less so, certainly no more dangerous than driving while half asleep, which seems to be the case for half the drivers out there these days.
It's a bit like Rape & Date Rape - 2 very very different offences, but still classed as rape in either circumstance with the same penalty. What they really should do is random breath test people the night before, not after the event. You get very few deaths & serious injury caused during the morning rush hour!

 

[Nickynibbles]

what about the guy who had a few beers the night before, goes to bed at 11pm and then is still over technically the limit at 10am the next day!

If by "a few beers" you mean 2-3 beers, this wont show up in most peoples system as a significant reading 11 hours later after stopping drinking though so isnt the problem and wont fail a test. Its the people who get smashed whilst enjoying the festive season the previous evening that will be highlighted here.

You get very few deaths & serious injury caused during the morning rush hour!

Do you not watch or listen to traffic news in the morning?! I live in rural Hampshire and local radio is litered with accident warnings, I expect busy cities are worse! This time of year it gets even worse as people just dont slow down in fog & frosty conditions. Just yesterday morning there had been a nasty crash on a roundabout off the M3 near where I work! I think its more common than you think.

 

[Issac Hunt]

i think its a bit underhand just random stopping innocent people but the problem is there are alot driving who arent and are way over the limit

If you are innocent then you have nothing to fear from being stopped. I dont drink and drive and if me being stopped means that the police will find and prosecute some drivers who are over the limit then I am more than happy to pulled over by the police.

Speaking from experience I can say that 'morning after drivers' are still a big problem, I was hit by one a few years ago whilst on a zebra crossing. Driver was still so drunk she didnt reaise she had hit hit anyone. Luckily a witness phoned the police and she was apprehended a short while later.

 

[Geordie Mike]

I know it's all averages and stuff but when I worked for my last company the rules about being in work were 40 mg/100 ml blood (i.e. half the UK drink drive limit). You could be randomly tested at any point. As part of the company induction they showed a graph which they stressed was for an average man (it was an oil company) of average build with an average metabolism, which showed if you started drinking at 6 pm and had 6 pints by midnight, you were JUST fine at 8 am the following morning.

Knowing that this is all averages, unless you are vastly different from the average population you're going to have to be doing something special to beat this. 2 - 3 pints shouldn't do it.

Mike

 

[Carpy25]

pulled me yesterday evening in blackwood, anti drink drive checks , didn't blow in the bag just smelt me for booze as the window came down . i've no problem being stopped for this evey one they catch means one less bad driver on the road

Rob

 

[AndyMac]

Do you not watch or listen to traffic news in the morning?! I live in rural Hampshire and local radio is litered with accident warnings, I expect busy cities are worse! This time of year it gets even worse as people just dont slow down in fog & frosty conditions. Just yesterday morning there had been a nasty crash on a roundabout off the M3 near where I work! I think its more common than you think.

I think you'll find very few of these incidents are related to morning after drivers, more likely half asleep drivers who don't know what they're doing (as usual). This is what I was referring to, I wasn't suggesting there are no serious accidents in rush hour. Drink drive related deaths happen when the driver is drunk behind the wheel i.e. usually the night of the drinking or some idiot who's been partying all night and had no sleep. Catching the odd law abiding driver who got a taxi home, a good nights sleep and drove home the following morning, and dealing with that driver in the same way as somebody who has deliberately gone out to drive while legless is a bit unfair. Yes, technically they're both committing the same crime, which needs to be heavily outlawed, but there's a world of difference between the two offences and the danger they present. Are they saying that there aren't enough drivers drunk at the wheel so they're now targetting the morning after driver? or are they merely doing it this way as it's easier and will make their figures look good? Ummmm that's a tough one.

 

[Macduff]

I know it's all averages and stuff but when I worked for my last company the rules about being in work were 40 mg/100 ml blood (i.e. half the UK drink drive limit). You could be randomly tested at any point. As part of the company induction they showed a graph which they stressed was for an average man (it was an oil company) of average build with an average metabolism, which showed if you started drinking at 6 pm and had 6 pints by midnight, you were JUST fine at 8 am the following morning.

Knowing that this is all averages, unless you are vastly different from the average population you're going to have to be doing something special to beat this. 2 - 3 pints shouldn't do it.

Mike

Was this an onshore or offshore job? As far as I'm aware, no UK company has the right to randomly test workers for drugs or alcohol. Obviously if you appear drunk then you may be suspended or dismissed but just to have alcohol in your system is a bit iffy.

Obviously offshore jobs may be considered differently as there are safety concerns and they may be covered by different (maritime?) laws.

 

[Beerzo]

..but what about the guy who had a few beers the night before, goes to bed at 11pm and then is still over technically the limit at 10am the next day. His driving is not effected (he's not still drunk), but technically there's still alcohol in his system.

If you fail a Drink Driving test wether over by an inch or a mile is that at that level of alcohol in your system, has been proven to effect the majority of drivers to some extent.

Yes drink effects people in different ways, but there has to be a line drawn. Not like they can say Mr X is a superb driver never had an accient so him speeding at 100 mph isnt as bad as a poor driver doing 85mph.

 

[AndyMac]

Yes but how much testing has been done on someone after a good nights sleep? The answer is none. All the alcohol related testing has been done by testing drivers who've just had a drink, whether 1 pint or 6 pints. The effect of alcohol is very different over an 6-8 hour period.
And it's also been proved tiredness has a far worse effect with no alcohol in the bloodstream.
My concern is that once again just like with speeding they are targetting the symptom not the cause i.e. drink driving is very dangerous = correct, catching drink drivers is difficult = correct, so lets catch the morning after drinker which is technically the same thing = incorrect. Their figures look good but they haven't actually caught anyone posing a major threat to road safety. The message is then diluted to "drive home from the pub all you want, just don't drive to work the next day". This is the same dilution they've successfully pulled off with speeding. As long as I don't speed I'm a safe driver. Which we all know is utter ********.

 

[jeffers999]

I agree with you lot, and also agree they should stop more people at 2-3-4 a clock am that in my eyes is when you are actually doing an offence (if u been drinking) some weekends me and my mates take it in turns to drive saves hasstle wainting for taxi,s etc obviously driver dont drink lol, and we been doing this for a while now and the car has never been stopped where are they then, its easier for them to stop people in the day light, Im very sure if they done these stop checks early hours they would find more muppets ...

jeffers

 

[jojo]

I have no problem with these checks or being stopped for a breathaliser test at all, if you have nothing to hide, why fear being stopped?!

 

[jeffers999]

I dont think anyone on here has anything to fear about being stopped ...Id hope anyway lol

 

[voorhees]

Everyone does not make allowances for being stopped on the way to work or traffic slowed down due to these so people arrive late for work thats the annoying bit.around the local villages where I live there is loads of drink drivers but they do it at night whilst the old bill check in the mornings so go figure

 

[Just Plain Old]

I always used to offer some very important advice at this time of year........

If you've had a few to many drinks tonight and are planning to drive home,,, for f*cks sake, please, please, please,,,,,,,, DON'T FORGET THE CAR!!!

 

[Geordie Mike]

Was this an onshore or offshore job? As far as I'm aware, no UK company has the right to randomly test workers for drugs or alcohol. Obviously if you appear drunk then you may be suspended or dismissed but just to have alcohol in your system is a bit iffy.

Obviously offshore jobs may be considered differently as there are safety concerns and they may be covered by different (maritime?) laws.

Onshore, office. Them was the rules, written into the contract. Same as when I was based downstream at a refinery, but there's no way you should be on the plant after a drink. Current lot has random drugs testing too. I thought it was pretty common for big companies.

 

[auditek]

company i work for have random drink n drug testing past 3-4 years. havent heard of anyone being checked or dismissed though, and its zero tolerance too ......................total idiots that drink n drive , if they crash i hope they die a slow death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!