TOUGH PENALTIES NEEDED

A Coast Mountain Bus Company driver, whose passenger suspected he had
been drinking and called police, has been fired. Shockingly, this
isn't the first bus driver to be fired after being slapped with a
24-hour suspension.

While most people who pick up a 24-hour suspension or are convicted of
driving drunk don't lose their jobs (even our premier didn't), the men
and women who fly planes and drive buses are held to a higher standard
- - a standard that should also apply to the people who drive taxis, run
our ferry system and operate school buses, along with those such as
air traffic controllers and train engineers.

Why a higher standard? Because our lives depend on it.

And that brings up an interesting question. Our lives are also on the
line in hospital emergency wards and operating rooms. Should doctors
and nurses and paramedics face random drug and alcohol tests? What
about firefighters? They save lives, too.

Teachers have huge influence on children - and, in an emergency, a
teacher's actions could determine a student's life or death. What
about judges and lawyers? We've certainly read about judges who were
too drunk to stay awake on the bench.

Structural engineers had better be sober when they design bridges and
buildings.

The list goes on and on. Strangely, the only people who always know
they'll face a drug test are Olympic athletes.

One can't help but wonder about society's priorities.