> A 'real' C programmer probably is fine .... but that's like 1% of the population of developers outputting C programs.

The idea that there's a small subset of C programmers who can wrangle the language into obeying them perfectly is obviously, a fantasy.

The problem is most drivers believe they are above average drivers.

I would hope writing C code for the Linux kernel qualifies you as a real C programmer. And yet, here we are. Being good, careful, and extensively reviewed by others helps, but is clearly not enough.