Crush
Contributor
As Thal may come here and offer, safety stops were originally included in dive training because OW divers often exceed (sometimes seriously) recommended ascent speeds. Putting in a safety stop was to help control ascents in the shallows. Before they were widely taught, ascent rates were 60 fpm, and safety stops weren't done -- so I think you can conclude that, as long as you are not pushing the limits on your no deco time, and you adhere to the recommended ascent rate, it is highly unlikely that anything untoward will occur from omitting a safety stop.
And I'm not sure how much good they are, anyway, because people do them and then go from 15 feet to the surface in a few seconds . . . failing to recognize that the largest proportional pressure changes are in the very shallow water, and that last 15 feet needs to be treated with respect, too.
Some time ago boulderjohn posted here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4590066-post28.html something about safety stops and ascent rates. That post was:
Regardless of the history of ascent rates and safety stops, recent research indicates that safety stops may be more valuable and effective than one might think. Research is ongoing in this area. Here is an interesting recent publication from DAN:
DAN Divers Alert Network
Here is one quote from it:
What is interesting, and not necessarily intuitive, is that an in-water stop with a relatively rapid ascent rate appears to be more effective at eliminating inert gas than a very slow ascent rate. As can be seen from Table 2, a five-minute in-water stop is much more effective than simply slowing the ascent rate, even though the total ascent time is not much different (6.6 minutes vs. five minutes).