TC.....Does not the Operator have the option of setting higher standards...does not the Pilot have the option of saying "NO!"? As an industry....do not the EMS providers through their many Professional Associations and Certification Councils have the ability to set safe minimums or minimum standards for all their members?
Why is the government supposed to be the decision maker as to "Best Practice" standards and upon what basis do they know what that Standard is supposed to be?
When I was in the seat both as a Pilot and later as a Manager....I set higher limits for myself and later for my Pilots. It was not always easy or well received by all....but the majority of folks I either worked for or supervised learned to live with me.
Case in point....a company pilot flew a Bell 206 to our home base after dark one night over some very dark ground....it being a forested area surrounding a fair bit of saltwater. I told him I preferred he not do that....and that I would gladly pay for his Room and Board if he would wait until daylight to make those kinds of trips. He took it as an insult to his abilities....when all it was intended to do was make it a bit safer for him in the future. As he was doing the trip under Part 91....the surface light reference requirement noted by Part 135 did not apply. (One of the odd things in the FAA rules...) thus he was legal and within the law. At that time there was not a Company SOP Manual....and as Part 135 did not apply....the decision to make the flight was his to make. In time he came to understand my reasons for my view on the matter. That and he found himself a Girlfriend in the remote location and thus had far more incentive to accept our coin for spending the night up there.
Point being...it does not remain with the Guvmint to tell us what to do right down to the very letter of the word....and in fact the less they interfere in our business is the better leaving us, those actually doing it to arrive at a safe standard. That is an American viewpoint....and flies in the face of the mindset in the UK and Europe. That is where we shall always differ from you folks over there....and hopefully despite the current Regime in office here....the current trend will only be a temporary one.
In our system....the Insurance Providers carry far more clout than do the FAA! If one cannot get the necessary insurance or cannot pay for it when offered....one is out of business! Commerce and Safety do go hand in hand when viewed from that perspective.