Posted by Bill Johnson on June 08, 2001 at 13:04:55:
In Reply to: Lost In The Flames posted by Jim Hoffmann on June 07, 2001 at 09:02:16:
Jim,
You said, "...you dive with equipment that has as few failure points as possible..." It is statements like this that are the sources of the flaming you are talking about; let me explain why. Theoretically speaking, one could make bulletproof gear, but is it necessary that gear be impervious to bullets while diving? Some of the disadvantages of bulletproof gear might be price, comfort, mobility, lack of desirable features, etc. On the opposite end of the extreme spectrum, one might make disposable gear that breaks by touching it. So what we are really arguing is the gear's degree bulletproofness. For most divers, especially recreational divers, this is not an issue, since extremely few scuba accidents are gear related. For the rest of us, since it is a matter of degree that we are arguing, who is to say who is right and who is wrong.
You said, "... the Certifying agency’s. They give lip service to diving safety, but that’s about it." I was just looking at your web site, and it looks like your's is a very NAUI shop. Are you saying NAUI doesn't care about diving safety? If so, please explain.
I suppose the main source of flames comes from those who feel it is necessary to insult divers who, follow the safety rules and, have been diving safely for years.
I will agree with your statement in your below post, "I think that everyone can benefit from a little DIR (it may not change the way you dive, but it will change the way you think about diving)." Since most accidents I have read about involve divers diving beyond their certified limits, I wholeheartedly agree with your statement in this post, "... have the right training and experience to make the dive." I must point out that safety conscious agencies and instructors, long before the arrival of DIR, have promoted this idea.
Regards,
Bill