TESTING LIMITS

Have you ever ridden a Greyhound and wondered why the driver persisted
in stopping at every railroad crossing whether the track was clear or
not?

It's because the first duty of a driver of a public-service vehicle is
the care and protection of the passengers on board.

That is why any Coast Mountain bus driver who is found to be drinking
before driving is going to lose his or her job.

That zero-tolerance policy is exactly what it should be and, thank
goodness, the company has enforced it in the two cases that have come
to light in the last three months.

A Vancouver bus driver was given a 24-hour driving suspension by
Vancouver police Sunday evening after a passenger reported smelling
alcohol on the driver's breath.

In November, a Coast Mountain transit driver was fired after police
gave him a 24-hour roadside suspension when passengers voiced their
suspicions the driver had been drinking.

In light of the most recent incident, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers
has called for random alcohol and drug testing of Coast Mountain drivers.

Some will see that approach as a reasonable precaution in a job where
the public's safety is paramount.

But we say: Where do you draw the line?

Until, or unless, there are provincial or federal policies in place to
allow random drug and alcohol testing in any profession where public
safety is an issue - and that could properly include anyone who
drives, any type of caregiver, and many professions from air traffic
controller to firefighters - a zero-tolerance policy and testing on
valid suspicion is the only way to go.