The typical DM probably does at least half a dozen dives a week with well trained or, at least, cautious divers. In many cases, new divers may be with friends who have more experience and will stick with them to oversee their actions. Even if the new diver isn't thoroughly supervised, the frequency of life-endangering trouble is probably fairly low. I am sure it is easy for some to get into a rhythm of going through the motions. I guess there are DMs who are in it for the money, or who have a passion for diving but not teaching. The best have to have a passion both for diving and for working with people. While many of you may say that the safety of customers is not the DM's responsibility, I don't want to dive with a DM who sees it that way. Thalassamania has the right mindset, IMO, that the guide is responsible for returning to the surface with the same number of divers that started the dive. Bonus points if you come back with an extra or two!
For those of you who DM, how often do you have to react to someone making a mistake that could be health-endangering? Is there any mechanism for revoking or marking the divers card if you find them to be incompetent on a dive?
I don't know how to say this without leaving the possibility of offense, but none is meant. I'd be blessed to study under a guy like JimLap for whom instructing is about creating responsible and self-sufficient divers. That said, I have to wonder about an instructor who would rather dive solo than with a buddy. It just seems incongruent that someone who cares so much about the learning process and promoting safe diving wouldn't want to extend that to actual diving situations. Most reasonable people wouldn't expect an instructor to babysit every time he/she goes out for a recreational dive, but diving with peers, or at least other divers whose skills are equal or superior to the dive plan, shouldn't seem abhorent to one who seems to have such a passion for diving and proper instruction.
Fosterboxermom, In spite of my belief that the DM and tour operator bear some responsibility for losing a diver from a guided dive, I have lost much faith in your statements based upon the recent spate of posts. You offer thanks to those in agreement and "I don't care what you think" to those who don't, which doesn't seem a sane or responsible attitude. This board is mostly about understanding what went wrong when an accident occurs so that it isn't repeated. It seems that isn't on the agenda for you, and that's fine, but don't expect to get what you're looking for here.
By the way, you never clarified the question of buddying. There were six, including the DM, in the group that intended to go to 100'. You stated that your friend was the DM's buddy. Were the other four divers matched in pairs as well, or was the DM everyone's buddy in the group?
As a learning item, does it seem that buddying with the DM is less safe for a new diver than choosing a different buddy? A non-DM buddy should be entirely occupied with the dive and his/her buddy. A DM buddy will also have some responsibility for the other divers on the dive and, while possibly the most experienced member of the group, the DM will have less attention to spare for his/her buddy than other divers in the group. Is it more likely that a diver buddied with the DM might get separated and end up entirely alone as opposed to any other diving pair?
With a new diver dropping way too deep and then shooting to the surface, is it the belief of the experienced divers that the most likely scenario involves badly screwed up bouyancy control? As the new diver descended, he didn't adjust his BC to allow for the affect of depth and became more and more negatively bouyant. By the time realization set in, with or without some time lost to panic and/or narcosis, and action was taken, it was too late. It was fortunate for the family and friends that the diver filled his BC and brought himself to the surface, eliminating the doubt, search time, and the possible inability to locate and recover the body. If the man was down past 300', it would have been serious work to locate and recover him if he stayed down there or went deeper.

I don't know how to say this without leaving the possibility of offense, but none is meant. I'd be blessed to study under a guy like JimLap for whom instructing is about creating responsible and self-sufficient divers. That said, I have to wonder about an instructor who would rather dive solo than with a buddy. It just seems incongruent that someone who cares so much about the learning process and promoting safe diving wouldn't want to extend that to actual diving situations. Most reasonable people wouldn't expect an instructor to babysit every time he/she goes out for a recreational dive, but diving with peers, or at least other divers whose skills are equal or superior to the dive plan, shouldn't seem abhorent to one who seems to have such a passion for diving and proper instruction.
Fosterboxermom, In spite of my belief that the DM and tour operator bear some responsibility for losing a diver from a guided dive, I have lost much faith in your statements based upon the recent spate of posts. You offer thanks to those in agreement and "I don't care what you think" to those who don't, which doesn't seem a sane or responsible attitude. This board is mostly about understanding what went wrong when an accident occurs so that it isn't repeated. It seems that isn't on the agenda for you, and that's fine, but don't expect to get what you're looking for here.
By the way, you never clarified the question of buddying. There were six, including the DM, in the group that intended to go to 100'. You stated that your friend was the DM's buddy. Were the other four divers matched in pairs as well, or was the DM everyone's buddy in the group?
As a learning item, does it seem that buddying with the DM is less safe for a new diver than choosing a different buddy? A non-DM buddy should be entirely occupied with the dive and his/her buddy. A DM buddy will also have some responsibility for the other divers on the dive and, while possibly the most experienced member of the group, the DM will have less attention to spare for his/her buddy than other divers in the group. Is it more likely that a diver buddied with the DM might get separated and end up entirely alone as opposed to any other diving pair?
With a new diver dropping way too deep and then shooting to the surface, is it the belief of the experienced divers that the most likely scenario involves badly screwed up bouyancy control? As the new diver descended, he didn't adjust his BC to allow for the affect of depth and became more and more negatively bouyant. By the time realization set in, with or without some time lost to panic and/or narcosis, and action was taken, it was too late. It was fortunate for the family and friends that the diver filled his BC and brought himself to the surface, eliminating the doubt, search time, and the possible inability to locate and recover the body. If the man was down past 300', it would have been serious work to locate and recover him if he stayed down there or went deeper.