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[Lots of stuff I agree with snipped]
> But if we need standards to dive deep, as Win suggests, the
> commercial divers have standards that ARE safe and they have
> suggested we adopt them if we wish to dive SAFELY. That means
> full face masks (so you can't spit out your reg in a convulsion
> or blackout), tether to the surface, handler for each diver,
> on site recompression chamber, on site medical staff for deeep
> dives, etc. ad nauseum. Perhaps DeepTek will outfit all of us
> or else they may suggest that if you can't foot the bill, you
> shouldn't be in the water. Personally, I don't like people making
> standards for my safety, I'm a big boy now.
Although I am in favor of advocating a PO2 limit of 1.4ATM, I am NOT a big
fan of "standards". This is another pet-peeve of mine, so I'll do my best
not to let this get out of hand....
Let's all get one thing clear: Standards have VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH
SAFETY!!! Many people have the false impression that creating standards
will somehow decrease the probability of a person getting hurt or killed.
Knowledge and training, NOT STANDARDS, are what decrease that probability
(my definition of "training" includes much more than the forums that
invole instructors and the exchange of money).
In the commercial industry, standards can inderectly affect safety by
forcing companies to provide basic safety to divers ('though I think fear
of losing a big lawsuit, not standards, is the real motivator here).
Standards in scientific institutions can be useful for providing a
foundation upon which enforcement might prevent boneheads from killing
themselves, but this is also indirect (also, in my experience, many
scientific institutions are more concerned with preventing a lawsuit than
preventing an accident). Standards, per se, are mostly important for
things like liability issues (lawsuits & such), insurance premiums, and
consistency among different training agencies. Many people in the
tech-diving field are very concerned about these issues (as they should
be), so discussion of standards is important. I comprehend the need for
standards, and I think they should be designed so that adhereing to them
will reduce the probability of a problem on most dives. But don't get
fooled into thinking that the creation and wide acceptance of standards
will help any given person stay alive any healthy. Only knowledge and
training can do that.
There, that wasn't too long, was it?
Aloha,
Rich
Richard Pyle
deepreef@bi*.bi*.ha*.or*
*******************************************************************
"WHATEVER happens to you when you willingly go underwater is
COMPLETELY and ENTIRELY your own responsibility! If you cannot
accept this responsibility, stay out of the water!"
*******************************************************************
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