Bus and taxi drivers who speed on Bermuda's roads should be treated more harshly than other motorists - and should be reported to their bosses, a safety advocate has claimed.

Chairman of the Road Safety Council Dr. Joseph Froncioni said he had been unhappy to learn that a bus driver caught speeding on the job could possibly appear in court and deal with the fine as a general member of the public without his or her position ever being mentioned and without the employer being informed.

But he said he wanted to see the Public Transportation Board or Transport Control Department informed every time a bus, taxi or truck driver was stopped for speeding while they were working.

At the very least, he said their employers should be informed and the incident placed on their record.

He said professional drivers should be treated differently from the ordinary motorist purely because they were responsible for the safety of passengers.

"These people, in my opinion, have a much higher burden of responsibility than the non-professional driver," said Dr. Froncioni.

"In general, they are also driving larger vehicles which weigh more and take up more room and are potentially more dangerous to other road users.

"It's unacceptable for a professional driver with paying customers on board to expose them to unnecessary danger, therefore it's vital they don't break the law.

They are supposed to abide by the 35 kph rule, but I know that many of them don't."

Dr. Froncioni said he regularly went running and found buses speeding past him doing a great deal more than the speed limit.

But he said bus schedules were designed so operators drove at 35 kph.

He said speeding buses was more the rule than the exception, and he urged passengers and members of the public to report drivers that were breaking the law.

"When they are in their line of duty as a bus driver, or any professional driver for that matter, and they break the law, then their employers, for example the Public Transportation Board, should know about it and it should go on their record.

"We suspect that when bus drivers are occasionally stopped, and I don't think it happens all the time, that they do go to court and deal with it privately, but that should not be allowed to happen. They are not just any old driver.

"There should be an official reporting system."

Director of PTB Dan Simmons said although there was no official way for him or the management team to find out about the 137 drivers notching up traffic violations, he believed they often found out, anyway.

"It's a small community and not much goes on without us knowing about it," said Mr. Simmons.

"While it could be possible (that drivers could deal with speeding charges privately), it does not regularly happen. Certainly, it would be a talking item around here.

"And the reality of it is such that that seldom happens, if it happens at all."

However, Mr. Simmons said if changes were made so that employers were told when their workers were caught violating traffic laws, he would welcome it.

"If that was something that was put in place, it would be desirable," he added.

"I think I already have it, but it is unofficial.

"It may be theoretically possible for them to deal with speeding charges without it coming to light, but I really don't think it's an issue. I think we find out.

"I do think that the drivers would report it themselves, and, in most cases they do.

"We are relying on them being honest with us - and that's part of the requirement for operating here."

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves said he treated all speeding violations in the same manner, unless the motorist was driving at a particularly high speed, for example 70 kph or more.

He said it was not necessarily brought to light in court what vehicle the motorist was driving, or whether they were working or not.

He said: "I simply work within the law."