Dive Agency Safety

[Bretthughes1970]

Have any studies been done on diving accidents to determine which agency has more accidents? I understand that PADI might have more divers certified so that might skew the numbers. I am looking for an agency that has safety as a top priority and understand that it seems that it would be instructor and student driven.

 

[BlackPatch]

You have to remember that all agencies are governed by the Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC :: World Recreational Scuba Training Council) that sets the minimum guidelines that all Scuba Training Agencies have to follow.
The agencies then set clear structure for the Instructors who operate under there organizations umbrella.
Sometimes these Instructors are money grabbers and will sign your C Card even if you can only marginally accomplish the prerequisite skills.
Some will not give you a C Card until you have a level of competence which satisfies not only the instructor but goes above and beyond the standards.

Safety factors are relative.
If you have a crap instructor, you will most likely be a crap diver as you have not had the training required to do this safely.
Find a good instructor, one who works closely with you and will mentor you in areas of concern and will provide critique and actually gives a damn about you coming back safe, regardless of agency you will be a safer diver.

Bottom line is interview Dive Instructors and get a feel for them.
There is a thread on Scubaboard that has some of the questions to ask when interviewing a trainer.

That said once certified OW, safety is all down to you. Once you have your C Card you can do what you want in open water to a limit of 60 to 80 ft, depending on agency.
Dive to your comfort level, don't push it, and never be afraid to scrub a dive if you feel something is not right.

All of the above said look up Doing It Right.
Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) and Unified Team Diving (UTD) are more expensive training agencies yet worth it. Talk to them if you want to know why.

I will be doing Fundies or Essentials in 2014 to get a better grasp on my diving even though I am certified.

Happy Diving and good luck.

 

[boulderjohn]

First of all, if you are only talking about recreational instruction, Wikipedia lists 64 such agencies. There are many more if you are talking other kinds of instruction. It is my understanding that PADI certifies about half the new divers in the world each year, so the numbers would be skewed a bit toward them. Some agencies certify only a handful of divers each year. I know that at least one of the agencies on that list only certified one diver one year. That agency's numbers would be pretty low.

Next, in most fatalities, there is no information given about how the diver was certified. It is fairly rare for that information to be part of a report, and thus there is no good way to know.

Finally, many people are certified by multiple agencies. I have certifications from 5 agencies. If I were to die, which one would get the credit/blame?

So, no, there is no such information available.

---------- Post added June 12th, 2013 at 01:57 PM ----------

You have to remember that all agencies are governed by the Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC :: World Recreational Scuba Training Council) that sets the minimum guidelines that all Scuba Training Agencies have to follow.

Only a handful of agencies are part of the WRSTC. They include most of the biggest ones, but they do not include all of them by any means.

 

[drrich2]

The agency matters to a point but the instructor matters more. Where are you and are you willing to travel?

If you go for one of the larger mainstream agencies like PADI, NAUI, SSI or SDI, don't stop at OW. Get AOW and take the Rescue course, mainly because of the risk assessment training, anti-panic 'stop, think, act' mindset and education about some health hazards of diving (e.g.: arterial gas embolism, pneumothorax).

If you're in his region or willing to travel, from what I hear on the forum, I think Jim Lapenta's SEI course would be a good deal more thorough than the 'average' PADI OW course, but then again, there are PADI instructors who can also 'go beyond the call.'

Take a private course so the instructor can taylor it to you & you can get the most out of it. Not the time for a gang of Groupon users.

Dive conservatively!

Over-train for the type of diving you want to do, and the conditions!

Stay in practice - dive periodically.

Dive the reasonably competent buddies who are assets, not liabilities.

Richard.

 

[TSandM]

You have to remember that all agencies are governed by the Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC :: World Recreational Scuba Training Council) that sets the minimum guidelines that all Scuba Training Agencies have to follow.

That actually isn't true. Not all agencies are signatory to the RSTC, and those which are not do not have to follow RSTC standards.

I do believe all AGENCIES have safety as a priority, at least during classes, simply because anything else would lead to lawsuits. Whether the beginner classes offered by all agencies result in a well-prepared diver whose safety is reasonably assured (assuming that diver dives within his limits and exercises reasonable prudence) is a matter of great controversy and perennial discussion here. We honestly cannot even agree on what skills or what standards are reasonable in an open water class, to ensure the student's safety.

It is my personal belief that a good open water class should not take place over three or even four days; there should be plenty of pool time in short enough sessions that the students can remain both comfortable and focused. There should be opportunities for remediation, if it's required. Staff to student ratios should be fairly low -- we tend to run no more than 1:3 in the pool, and 1:2 in open water. Students should be expected, by the end of the class, to be able to perform basic skills like mask clearing and regulator recovery WHILE DIVING, and without complete loss of buoyancy control or awareness. A student who graduates from such a class is likely to be pretty safe when executing dives similar to the ones he did while training. Competence in more challenging conditions comes with experience and time.

That said, I will put in a plug for the same agencies mentioned above. GUE is an organization which is known for a conservative approach to diving and a thorough approach to training and education of student divers. GUE OW classes are not easy to find, and they are by no means inexpensive, but they are very good training.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You have to remember that all agencies are governed by the Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC :: World Recreational Scuba Training Council) that sets the minimum guidelines that all Scuba Training Agencies have to follow.

Is this true? I never knew that. ALL agencies? I never even heard of WRSTC. Does anyone have a concise explanation of what WRSTC does and why training organizations join WRSTC and follow its guidelines? I looked at their web site, but couldn't find a concise explanation of who they are and what they do.

NOTE: Looks like TS&M posted while I was typing.

 

[boulderjohn]

Is this true? I never knew that. ALL agencies? I never even heard of WRSTC. Does anyone have a concise explanation of what WRSTC does and why training organizations join WRSTC and follow its guidelines? I looked at their web site, but couldn't find a concise explanation of who they are and what they do.

NOTE: Looks like TS&M posted while I was typing.

As was said twice before, it is not true. The web site should provide you with a list of those agencies that are members. Here is the download page, which includes the minimum standards to which they agree for various courses. WRSTC Downloads

 

[BlackPatch]

Apologies on my previous post in regards Agency affiliation and RSTC

I was not as clear as I should have been.

 

[Lorenzoid]

As was said twice before, it is not true. The web site should provide you with a list of those agencies that are members. Here is the download page, which includes the minimum standards to which they agree for various courses. WRSTC Downloads

As I said in my post, John, I was still typing while TS&M posted an explanation, so it was not "said twice before" my post. As I also said in my post, I looked around the WRSTC web site and couldn't find a concise explanation of who they are. There is a lot of detailed information there, but I couldn't find an overview. Anyway, it doesn't matter. From the other replies here, it seems that WRSTC is a voluntary organization that certification agencies can choose to join if they wish, and many apparently choose not to. So it's irrelevant to me. Had BlackPatch been correct that WRSTC is somehow a universal umbrella for every dive training agency in the world, I would want to know more.

 

[knotical]

... I looked around the WRSTC web site and couldn't find a concise explanation of who they are. ...

from: WRSTC :: World Recreational Scuba Training Council

Mission Statement

The World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC) is dedicated to the worldwide safety of the recreational diving public. As such, one of the WRSTC’s primary goals is the development of worldwide minimum training standards. The establishment of globally recognized and implemented standards is a valuable asset in addressing local and national regulatory issues.

The WRSTC is the mechanism for worldwide cooperation in reaching international consistency in minimum course training standards. Member Councils of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council recognize and accept responsibility for the promotion of worldwide safety of the recreational diving public, international consistency of training standards and worldwide credibility of the WRSTC.

U.S.-based scuba training agencies that meet the membership criteria may apply to and become a member of the RSTC. For additional information, contact info@wrstc.com.

Founded in 1999, the World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC) is dedicated to the worldwide safety of the recreational diving public. Through it’s membership, the WRSTC is the mechanism for worldwide cooperation in reaching international consistency in minimum course training standards. Member Councils recognize and accept responsibility for the promotion of worldwide safety of the recreational diving public, international consistency of training standards and worldwide credibility of the WRSTC.

The WRSTC's membership is restricted to national or regional councils comprised of the individual training organizations who collectively represent at least 50% of the annual diver certifications in the Member Council’s country or region. Countries or regions without a current WRSTC Member Council that are interested in forming an RSTC organization and then applying to become a WRSTC affiliate should contact info@wrstc.com for more information.