Divers dying every lobster opening. This has to stop!

[dumpsterDiver]

There is no way to prevent these kinds of accidents. Collecting game (lobster fish etc.) can be a very interesting and (attention stealing) activity. People need to recognize that diving really needs to be second nature to them, before they pursue such "distracting" activities. If you are totally out of shape or out of practice, probably not the best activity to do.

On the other hand, this is the kind of activity that motivates and excites people to go diving. Not many people want to dampen that enthusiasm. We see it clearly in Florida, big sales before the "season" and a lot of hype. The season is open for like 9 months here, but they make it into a big event.

Dive shops and operators are NOT going to stop promoting this type of "opening day" mentality. The best we can hope for is some enlightened dive shops offer some:
discounted or free" gear checks,
open pool day to brush up on skills (or help the person realize how out of shape they have become)
maybe some inexpensive seminars on how to catch lobsters (and include some safety reminders etc.).

 

[drrich2]

Do you feel the same about helmet laws? Seatbelt laws? Speed limits? The legal responsibility of bartenders to stop serving someone who has too much? Do you believe that people should not speak up if they see that same person try to get behind the wheel of a car. How about issuing a one time drivers license without ever retesting to prove competency regardless of age? I am just curious if these same attitudes apply to all aspects of our lives, or is it just diving you hold sacred with an every man for himself attitude?

Fair enough; I'll answer your questions. My comments assume the people involved are adults, not minors, of course.

Helmet laws & seat belt laws? Yes. I consider them a violation of the right of the pursuit of happiness, which our culture seems to value less than the right to free speech for some reason; the latter is often touted in a manner bordering on the scared in people's minds, the former hardly mentioned.

Speed limits? Involve a risk to others, therefore a necessary imposition.

Bartenders bound to stop serving drunks? Seems a bit more middle-of-the-road, but 2 issues come into play. The drunk is presently of diminished decisional capacity (granted, self-inflicted), and probably going to be driving away from the bar (varies with location; some urban locations differ), and there is the presumption that this person might well have chosen not to so imperil himself, were he in his right mind at the time. And of course you can drink yourself to the floor by buying alcohol elsewhere, like a grocery store. So I don't really have a problem with this.

Should people speak up when they see a drunk trying to get into his car? If you're a friend or close family member, probably so. If it's a stranger, people would debate that. A lot of people 'voting with their feet' would opt for 'mind your own business,' but some would say something. Growing up, my parents taught me to be a little paranoid of random strangers and that there are some dangerous nuts out there, so approaching random mentally disturbed people in the community isn't something I normally do (after all, drunks are notorious for being higher risk for violence).

Mandatory testing of the elderly for fitness to drive can be a hot topic. Unfit to drive elders create an unacceptable hazard to others on the road, so regulation to maintain reasonable safety to others is warranted.

A common theme here; the law is to protect you from other people, not you from yourself. This assumes you are an adult of adequate decisional capacity (e.g.: not mentally retarded, delirious from a medical condition, actively psychotic from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, demented from Alzheimer's disease, etc...).

Richard.

 

[dlofting]

As an "educational" solution why not direct divers (lobster divers, abalone divers, any divers) to this board. There is plenty of safe practice information and examples posted here as well as discussion of consequences of unsafe practices. People who really want to learn will respond.....those who don't,won't. As TSandM said, the first group can be educated, the second probably can't.

 

[Rich Keller]

You are right in many cases, but you could also have had a heart attack, stroke, or seizure. 40 year olds drop dead some times without warning.

There are of course exceptions to every rule but those exceptions are very rare in this case. Even in the cases of heart attack, stroke, or seizure these rarely cause instant death so many of these divers could be saved as well by just dropping their weights.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Used to live where deer hunting was popular...had to avoid the woods esp on opening day...cows...other hunters children all got shot....something primal goes on in hunting ....as if all the game will be caught by the other guy...manhood based on size of your catch...( as indeed it was once upon a time)
Add in dangers of scuba...distraction..people go out on opening night irregardless of ocean conditions or their experience/abilities...at night....you do get more divers in the water which skews the stats a bit.

 

[Six Feet Under]

We were just discussing the high fatality rate associated with lobster diving last night in SB chat. I didn't think to compare it to land based hunting. I guess since I don't hunt, I don't hear about hunting deaths.

The only thing I know about hunting is that you don't do it with Dick Cheney. Unless you've been really depressed for a while...

It happens often, unfortunately. People shoot at what they "think" is a deer because they don't bother to really identify their target AND what is beyond it.

I work in an emergency room, and I will tell you that there is nothing you can do that will eliminate deaths and accidents due to carelessness, bravado, or people overestimating their capacities.

Educational programs do work to an extent -- people whose only fault is ignorance can be warned. But people whose fault is arrogance will still go on to do what they do.

Yup, you nailed it. I work as a police officer in road patrol and I can 100% agree with your assessment of the problem.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I think in a lot of cases where legislation was enacted to save people from themselves, liability was a leading factor.
Just follow the money and most times you can get to the root of why most "save you from yourself" laws are in place.

 

[flots am]

It happens often, unfortunately. People shoot at what they "think" is a deer because they don't bother to really identify their target AND what is beyond it.

My brother has a dozen or so sheep, and has to put them in the barn on opening day because people don't seem to understand that deer aren't white and fluffy, kept in a pasture and say "baaaa".

 

[keller34]

My brother has a dozen or so sheep, and has to put them in the barn on opening day because people don't seem to understand that deer aren't white and fluffy, kept in a pasture and say "baaaa".

Same goes for cows, dogs, and pretty much anything that moves.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[FinnMom]

Education might help, unfortunately it might also just reinforce the ideas of the non-diving public that diving is crazy dangerous while all the divers who should be recognizing themselves in the warning signs just think "not me, I'm a macho wonderboy".

It's good to brainstorm for anything that might help though; the deaths are so remarkably many that it is giving our sport a black eye.