Higher standards for ‘professional’ drivers?

So-called professional drivers, who drive for a living, are, on a day to day basis, essentially held to the same standards as every casual car driver on the road. The People’s Cycling Front of South Gloucestershire asks if they should be held to a higher standard? In other words,

“Why are the fucking safety standards for coach drivers so much lower than for airplane pilots?

There’s always that claim “the most dangerous part of a flight is the drive to and from the airport”. Maybe that’s not because there is something inherently dangerous about the roads, but because they are full of coach drivers who are allowed to keep driving even after they crash, HGV drivers fiddling their tachographs to drive for 18 hours a day salesmen (and it is mostly men) driving their BMWs and Audis at 90 mph while they talk to their back office in their iphones.

Well, if that’s the case, it’s correctable: hold “professional” drivers to higher standards than amateur drivers, on the basis that if they do it for a living, for many hours every working day -they better be fucking safe to so. Instead of “I will lose my job” being a plea for lenience, it should be “you should have known better”.”

It’s an interesting idea, but would it reduce deaths and injuries on the roads? I wonder if the percentage of professional drivers involved in incidents is greater or less than the number of everyday drivers? Maybe it would be a benefit to hold them to a higher standard, but then why single out just ‘pro’ drivers, surely all drivers should adhere to a high standard. Motorized vehicles are dangerous to other road users, and need to be driven with due care, professional driver or not. All the same, I’d like to think my bus or coach driver was alert and his vehicle was checked before I board, one is placing one’s life in their hands for the duration of the trip…