BP Oil Spill, Scuba diving and Risk Assessment

[barbara789]

I think it has got to a point that some people think that even if they were wrong it will be OK.
a person who smiles when things go wrong found someone else to blame it on.

I agree with u.

 

[barbara789]

i think this discussion is lacking some where.
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Millions of US businesses and residents are entitled to compensation due to BP Oil Spill. Claim here

 

[gfyrasng]

I think what a lot of it boils down to is that a lot of people have quit thinking for themselves. They just assume that all their bells and whistles will be there to bail them out, if/when they screw up. I would imagine if you look at GUE/UTD type trained divers and teams, they have a lower fatality rate when compared to the OW/AOW community. Even though tech diving is considered to be much more risky than your typical OW diving, the training and mentality of the divers is much different from the average diver. They know the risks, and have the equipment set up a specific way, along with rigorous training on how to use it and what to do in emergency situations. When looking at most OW/AOW the dive shops/trainers seem to push students through training, more or less showing them how to use the equipment and giving them a card. How proficient is one supposed to be after a few days in the pool and two or three dives in open water? Don't get me wrong, the blame can't be completely put on the shops and trainers. Divers them selves are responsible for building and improving upon the skills they've learned and to become more proficient, but a lot are simply happy to have their card and figure the training they received is enough, not ever really thinking about it after that.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I just read an article about accidents increasing at intersections where they've installed "red light cameras." These are cameras that issue tickets to cars that run red lights. So people are now slamming on their brakes if the light turns yellow and they are having a lot of rear end accidents.

There's a mitigating circumstance in that one ... the folks who install the cameras are a private company. In the interest of increasing their profits, they've tweaked down the interval for the yellow light, making it easier to enter the intersection as the light turns red. The rear-end accidents occur because people come to realize this, and slam on their brakes rather than risk the ticket.

This isn't due to a reliance on technology ... it's due to a shifting paradigm away from traffic enforcement for safety and toward traffic enforcement for profit. There are some parallels to be made there with respect to how a lot of dive ops approach their scuba classes.

As a pilot I'm big on safety but I am also big on risk assessment. It's an interesting idea that an over reliance on safety is driving more accidents. I would be interested to see how this applies in the diving world.

Oh I think the answer isn't an over reliance on safety, but rather a shifting attitude that one can replace skills and knowledge with a reliance on equipment. We see it here on ScubaBoard daily ... "Oh, I just come up when my air-integrated computer tells me to", rather than developing a basic understanding of proper dive planning and gas management ... "I always carry a pony", rather than developing reasonable buddy skills, and learning how to properly vet a dive buddy prior to a dive. Now we have folks talking about using "buddy locators" for when ... WHEN ... they lose a dive buddy, rather than learning a bit of technique and applying a modicum of self-discipline to not lose their dive buddy.

Proper risk assessment requires adequate training, the development of a "safety first" attitude, and a mental approach to diving that recognizes that while it's not a particularly difficult activity, it does require a reasonable level of skill that goes beyond what you'll get from a class. Unfortunately, those who wish to promote that view on ScubaBoard have been stigmatized and labelled "POV Warriors" ... so it's become an unpopular topic to bring up here.

After all ... it's much more profitable to just sell someone an air-integrated computer ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[fjpatrum]

Risk assessment in any environment is about taking responsibility for that risk. We, as a society, (at least here in the USA) have left that capacity far behind. Individuals still do it, occasionally, but in general people always want to put the blame elsewhere and we've allowed it for too long. Be it gadgets for safety or too much reliance on other people to think for us, we've forgotten how to take care of ourselves. I don't know that there is any statistical reference for it, but I'd wager we're "safer" now than ever as far as actual damages because of this stuff. The problem arises, as you said, when the things we rely on no longer work, how will we cope? We will cope, it's just a matter of how far back it sets us to do so.

Training is really the only way around this issue. I don't know what a "POV Warrior" is but I'd probably be on that side of the fence if it's about training and attitude needing to be stressed more than it is now. You can never have too much training.

 

[Herk_Man]

fj kind of saved me a bunch of typing. Our society has bred a generation of people that forget that there are consequences for personal choices. So when it comes to risk, they are just not wired to take into account that they might, I don't know, DIE!? And if they come close to it but manage to cheat death, that's a bonus! Cuz then I get to sue someone for making it possible for me to make bad decisions. Then I can use my new millions to buy more toys that I find even more risky ways to employ and attempt to kill myself yet again! (Rant mode off.)

 

[Jeff Toorish]

Herk, I think it is more than a generation. I think it is the past two, maybe three generations.