Accepting Responsibility for Your Own Safety

[TSandM]

No, I don't think the dive guide should monitor my gas. I should do that. I don't think my dive buddy should monitor my gas, because I should do that. My dive buddy is there if my equipment malfunctions; the dive guide is there if my dive buddy malfunctions.

If people are diving without the ability to monitor their own gas, I think the solution is to teach them to monitor their gas, not assign them a minder.

 

[karlimmergut]

No, I don't think the dive guide should monitor my gas. I should do that.(...)

In my opinion, I should take full responsibility to monitor my own gas at all times without reliance on anyone AND ALSO the dive guide should independently monitor everyone's gas. Redundancy dictates that at every point of the dive, there should be at least TWO people who care about the safety of each diver, so that would be the diver (me), and the dive guide. I am not counting here the instabuddy since one cannot be expected to trust a random, freshly who-knows-where-and-how certified person with their life.

There seems to be an odd unstated assumption that responsibility needs to be divided, as if it were a physical substance. Dive guide checking on my air does not in any way limit my ability to monitor my air, right? So this is a false dichotomy...

 

[cbm32]

"If people are diving without the ability to monitor their own gas, I think the solution is to teach them to monitor their gas, not assign them a minder."

You dont think that the fact that the dive guide takes the trouble to monitor their gas just MIGHT end up teaching them that it is important to monitor your gas? In the meantime (again, assuming we are talking a dive op or resort type operation in the tropics) having the DM do it just might save a life and if it doesnt it might just help defend a law suit.

 

[DevonDiver]

You dont think that the fact that the dive guide takes the trouble to monitor their gas just MIGHT end up teaching them that it is important to monitor your gas?

I can't think of any examples in my life, which illustrate that doing something for someone, encourages them to do it for themselves.

The opposite is invariably true.

In diving, we have a thriving 'culture of dependence'. What started out as 'good customer service', rapidly became the norm for safety... allowing divers to abdicate personal responsibility to a third party, in the mistaken belief that it is 'normal' procedure to have those basic functions done for you as standard.

Until demonstrated otherwise...and encouraged to fend for themselves, such divers are never likely to 'fly the nest' and take responsibility for supervising themselves.

 

[nimoh]

No, I don't think the dive guide should monitor my gas. I should do that. I don't think my dive buddy should monitor my gas, because I should do that. My dive buddy is there if my equipment malfunctions; the dive guide is there if my dive buddy malfunctions.

If people are diving without the ability to monitor their own gas, I think the solution is to teach them to monitor their gas, not assign them a minder.

That is a great sound bite