"Cliff" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 03:47:07 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 22:37:13 GMT, Ecnerwal
wrote:

Gunner Lied:

And as Ive said..at the moment..there is
no reliable way to tell if you are impared on the job, or not.

Bull****, Gunner. Such tests _already_ exist. Typically somewhat like a
video game, doing reaction-time testing, and perhaps other things
depending on the nature of the job. Not able to do the task in the test,
not allowed to operate the train, press, plane, whatever. Perhaps even
get the breathalyzer, ****, blood, and/or other test - for cause -
unless you want to be fired.

Yes such tests do exist. They are expensive, time consuming and a
number of them involve equipment that requires a lab tech to operate.

Sort of like an IQ test for wingers.
Or a sobriety test needed to start your car. Watch the pretty
lights, push the pretty buttons .... to complicated, right?

The example I've seen tests motor and cognitive ability, and would run on a
laptop and maybe even the better PDAs. It only takes a few minutes,
certainly much less than a drug test, and gives instant results. It does
not distinguish between various causes of impairment, such as drugs v.
simple fatigue. It's cheap, reliable and non-invasive, too.

So, naturally, there's no market for it. Much better to get the guy who
smoked a joint 2 weeks ago and let your hung-over, over tired or caffeine
addled employees keep operating that heavy equipment, right? Government
regulation of worker's compensation insurance and employer liability very
frequently offer employers financial incentives for drug testing programs,
only. In FL, I think it's a 5% discount on worker's comp rates.


And they are often wrong.

Sort of like all the false positives for a drug test, right?

Im an ex cop. I can "usually" tell if someone is on drugs and can
often times tell you which one.

Better than any such test I'm certain, right?

Research shows that cops overestimate their ability to detect alcohol or
drug impairment, more so for the latter, less so for the former.

Jeff