Basic diver responsibilities

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Ana

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Pompano Beach, FL
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I just don't log dives
Over the years my husband and I have accumulated quite a bit of gear, probably more than we should.

This week while using a portion of our solid weights for something non dive related, an old tank weight surfaced... I used this in the 90's whenever I used AL tanks, but the weight is not the reason for this post...


The disclaimer on it is what I've always liked and wished it was stamped on every piece of gear, C-card, scuba bumper sticker and the first thing an instructor should say every morning to the students.

"TO AVOID SCUBA RELATED DROWNING, DO NOT DIVE"

I read it, and almost sounds poetic to me.

Do divers truly acknowledge this statement when they go in the water or should this post be moved to the "Grumpy old divers" forum?

Sure we can reduce the risk of drowning or getting injured like the label also points out, but that becomes a negotiation, if we want absolutes...... Do not dive.
 

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... that's like saying "to avoid dying, do not be born" ...

There's an inherent risk in everything we do. It's less a matter of avoiding risk than it is managing it, and accepting that no matter how well managed, there's always a possibility for a bad outcome.

That's true of pretty much everything we do in life ... yet we almost always choose to go on living, and accepting a certain level of risk as the price we pay for the privilege ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
Over the past few years, people have posted quotations from current dive computer manuals that essentially mean using this computer will kill you. I assume the reason for that now is the same as it was then. If something happens and your family tries to sue them, they can say you were warned.
 
When I raced motocross on the amateur circuit all motocross bikes came with a sticker that said This motorized vehicle can cause serious injury. Same concept, It's a risk, driving is a risk life is a risk.
 
TO AVOID SCUBA RELATED DROWNING, GET PROPERLY TRAINED, FOLLOW YOUR TRAINING, DIVE WITH PROPER EQUIPMENT THAT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED AND WITH WHICH YOU ARE FAMILIAR, DIVE WITHIN YOUR LIMITS IN CONDITIONS THAT ARE SAFE, WITH A BUDDY WITH WHOM YOU STAY IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AT ALL TIMES, FOLLOWING A DIVE PLAN, AFTER A THOROUGH PRE-DIVE SAFETY CHECK.
DivemasterDennis
 
TO AVOID SCUBA RELATED DROWNING, GET PROPERLY TRAINED, FOLLOW YOUR TRAINING, DIVE WITH PROPER EQUIPMENT THAT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED AND WITH WHICH YOU ARE FAMILIAR, DIVE WITHIN YOUR LIMITS IN CONDITIONS THAT ARE SAFE, WITH A BUDDY WITH WHOM YOU STAY IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AT ALL TIMES, FOLLOWING A DIVE PLAN, AFTER A THOROUGH PRE-DIVE SAFETY CHECK.
DivemasterDennis

You just proved my point..... doing all those things does not always result in AVOIDING a scuba related drowning. And THAT was the point of my post, you can do everything "by the book" and still die, just like the posts above yours pointed out, the only way to NOT die is to not be alive.

But so many people go on the assumption that if I have a buddy I'll be fine... or if I have a buddy, check my gear and follow a, b, c and d then I'll be fine. They fail to realize that sometimes things go sideways and the results are ugly.
Wouldn't it be better to take responsibility for one's own dive, not with fear but also not being delusional that follow the rules will shield you from harm. Maybe there would be less heartaches and less lawsuits trying to blame someone else when something goes wrong.
 
As the old saying points out
"Life is so dangerous that no one survives in the long run".
 
To avoid scuba-related drowning be like me (so far). Be a safe as you think you can, be very lucky over the long run (10 yrs. so far) by never having a situation go really sideways, then eventually get too old to dive and quit. You will not die from scuba that way.
 
Wouldn't it be better to take responsibility for one's own dive, not with fear but also not being delusional that follow the rules will shield you from harm. Maybe there would be less heartaches and less lawsuits trying to blame someone else when something goes wrong.

In the only cases I know of in which lawsuits were filed, there was an accusation that some responsible party had been grossly negligent. In some cases, the accusations were groundless, but in the successful cases I know of (and there have not been many), the actions of the person being sued were frankly pretty darn bad and worthy of the suit.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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