Skywest crew caught drinking, not thinking

A PBT is not laboratory instrument, but a Intoximeter is. If they blew into a PBT, it is not admissible in court, and can only be used to develop probable cause for arrest. An actual measurement would need to be taken at a police station. If you conduct the breath testing according to proper procedures, you're going to get a BrAC that will be in line with a blood test.

People typically say, "Go for a blood test!" thinking they can get their BAC under the legal limit at the time of the test. However, many courts a) will allow interpolation into a BAC based on the standard rate of metabolization of alcohol, and b) blood is harder to fight in court than a BrAC from an Intoximeter. I'm not trying to give anyone tips to beat a DUI. Most of my DUIs refuse to do the field sobriety tests and refuse to blow, thinking that an officer will have no case against them in court. Not true.

As for the .035, that is about two drinks in your system. The body metabolizes alcohol at a rate of .015 per hour. I have a little whiz-wheel tool in my car that can interpolate how many drinks someone has had based on BAC and time. I'll see if we can't get an estimate later.

I think the take away from all this is, DON'T GET DRUNK OFF YOUR ASS ON AN OVERNIGHT. Go out and have a few drinks with the crew, fine. 30+ hour layover? Eh, have at it. Just use your head, because you are not on vacation... You are at work. I've had plenty of times where myself and the crew went out and partied it up, but we were always very cognizant of the fact that we had to fly an airplane in the morning, and therefore had to be responsible.
 
BlackAsphaltSheepdog said:
A PBT is not laboratory instrument, but a Intoximeter is. If they blew into a PBT, it is not admissible in court, and can only be used to develop probable cause for arrest. An actual measurement would need to be taken at a police station. If you conduct the breath testing according to proper procedures, you're going to get a BrAC that will be in line with a blood test.
Click to expand...

The testing devices at police stations are calibrated for temperature, which does make them far more accurate.

They still make estimates based on partition ratios, which does introduce a very real error. Granted, for the average DUI case, if someone is measured at 0.12, it hardly matters. If the error caused someone that was in fact .01 to measure .021, when their job is on the line, I am not sure it is really a reliable test to use.

I drink a lot of orange juice, it is possible to blow in the .01-.02 range from that.
 
GypsyPilot said:
At SkyWest, the limit is 8 hours and less than .02.
Click to expand...

Same rule at every company I've worked at.

And don't forget, kids, it's 0.02 because below that the breathalyzer isn't accurate. So it's not really 0.02, it's a zero tolerance rule; they simply can't accurately test at 0.019 and below.

Or said another way; don't get drunk and try to go to work.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
The testing devices at police stations are calibrated for temperature, which does make them far more accurate.

They still make estimates based on partition ratios, which does introduce a very real error. Granted, for the average DUI case, if someone is measured at 0.12, it hardly matters. If the error caused someone that was in fact .01 to measure .021, when their job is on the line, I am not sure it is really a reliable test to use.

I drink a lot of orange juice, it is possible to blow in the .01-.02 range from that.
Click to expand...

No, it is not possible to blow in the .01-.02 range from drinking orange juice.

It is required here to test the machines for accuracy every 62 days. Typically, the machines are tested by a Breath Alcohol Technician from the State Police every 30 days. If the machine is outside acceptable tolerances, it will be re-calibrated. However, the machines are often re-calibrated to be in much tighter tolerances than what is technically required. Also, prior to any test, and after any test (meaning someone blowing into the machine), the machine conducts its own accuracy check which is recorded on the printable receipt.

As I said, the PBTs used in the field are not as accurate, and that is why they are not admissible in court. The PBTs also go through calibration checks, but only every 93 days.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Your math is correct. Breathalyzers, however, are not precise laboratory instruments. They estimate a blood alcohol level, by estimating the amount of air in the average lung, estimating how much ETOH on average is aspirated from the blood in the lungs, and estimating the volume of the average breath. So for two people with actual BAC levels of 0.01, one might test at 0.00, one might test at 0.03.

I personally would insist on a blood test.
Click to expand...

I personally would just not get piss drunk on a layover.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Not saying you should. Just pointing out that these tests aren't designed to reliably discern between 0.0 and 0.01, so for a "zero tolerance policy," there are going to be false positives.
Click to expand...

Why risk it all then? If you don't drink, at all, nobody can say you did, so any attempting to analyze your BAC constitutes harassment. If you admit to drinking *at all*, that's probably cause- the 'no residual effects' line gets you.
 
cmill said:
How is this news? A crew was tested for sobriety, and everyone was sober.

I think the only surprise is that it was a skywest crew. Next thing you know they'll be having sex before marriage and not wearing anointed underwear. What a shame.
Click to expand...

Newsflash, most SkyWest pilots are not Mormon. SkyWest's alcohol policy is the FAA minimum with the exception of .02 instead of .04. SkyWest has as many alcoholic pilots as any other airline.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus that ate your iPhone.
 
Ralgha said:
Newsflash, most SkyWest pilots are not Mormon. SkyWest's alcohol policy is the FAA minimum with the exception of .02 instead of .04. SkyWest has as many alcoholic pilots as any other airline.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus that ate your iPhone.
Click to expand...
What? Next thing you're going to tell me all Hawaiian Air pilots don't wear leis and and brown shorts aren't part of the uniform at UPS.
 
BlackAsphaltSheepdog said:
o_O

Probable cause.
Click to expand...
jtrain609 said:
Folks commonly use the term in more broadly of a way than it's really intended, don't hold it against them :)
Click to expand...

I think he meant the typo where I wrote 'probably' instead of 'probable'. The reason I referenced it was because a friend who'd worked in law enforcement told me that it applied- "Just two beers, officer" is all they need to move on you. If you admit to drinking at all, you're hosed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top