If you were to redo the scuba industry how would you do it?

[Germie]

I like the idea of a separate certification body. We need discussion, however.
So, let me be the devils advocate and propose an opposing idea:
There shall be no certifications. If you screw it up you die. Pick your instructor.
Too many certs, too little diving.

This works really well in skiing, horseriding, and other sports. For autodidacts is would be a really good idea.
But do you want to do checkdives with a divecenter or not?

I hate checkdives as I am certified. Some divecenters let you pay for just 30 minute dive on a housereef to show some skills. This must be free in my eyes and be done before the first boat leaves so you don't miss a serious dive.

And from business point, how do you trust a diver which has no cert that books a 80m wreckdive on a ccr? This makes certificateless diving difficult I am afraid. Do you trust such people as a dive center?

The way of taking driving lessons will help, but will make it more expensive. And not always a second instructor or evaluator is easy available. So how do you see this point?

I think we need certs, but also need the option for autodidacts to just book an evaluation exam on a level. This is also the driving lesson way, you don't need to take lessons, you just can sign in for an exam. But you can take lessons if you want.

I think a price per dive would be nice. And then also that the student has the option to sign in for an exam if he wants, even if an instructor disagrees.
Now a course is written as 12 dives for this cave course, 8 dives for that, 6 dives for that trimix, etc. So you book a course of 6,8, 12 dives. Or 6 days of training. But will there be an average time to pass the exam also if you just want to rent an instructor for some exams? That is needed then. Also a very good outline for the student to know what he has to be able to show and know. So we need better books.

Just some points to think about.

And with this known, is the dive industry nowadays that bad? I don't think so.
I only think we have to teach the media. If a diver dies, they talk about a dangerous sport and divesites or caves must be closed. But do we close roads if an accident happens? Teach the media that diving is safe so that it is accepted like driving a car.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

One of the sub-courses of my SSI AOW repeatedly suggested it was teaching you how to dive in limited visibility, not just night. In my opinion, that entire section was about night-diving and none of it was about diving in very silty water.

I can share tips I learned from experience, like go slow, feel ahead, better vis might be available going up a few feet, and beware entanglements. But they didn't teach any of that.

Also, wear gloves if working on the bottom, such as on a compass course, with hands out front. I remember finding a fish with a spine when we were doing this in a 1000 yard underwater swim in limited visibility. If your hand is out of sight in front of you, you don’t know what it will contact.

SeaRat

 

[MrVegas]

I only think we have to teach the media. If a diver dies, they talk about a dangerous sport and divesites or caves must be closed. But do we close roads if an accident happens? Teach the media that diving is safe so that it is accepted like driving a car.

This is a good point. For whatever reason, public perception of diving accidents seems to be different than other sports. Many more people are killed in cycling accidents, but we don't close a road to cyclists or require certifications to ride a bike or demand that bike shops keep people safe. If someone dies in a cave or quarry, there is often public outrage and demands to close the site.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Ok, so here’s a question.
If an uncertified person goes online and buys all the scuba gear they need, and also goes online or some other source and buys their own compressor, then goes diving and hurts themselves or get’s killed, who fault is it and who get’s sued?

My point is it seems like all this certification stuff and the surrounding legal spiderweb is just a structure that has both positive and negative impacts.

 

[MidOH]

Heck yeah.

I love a good shore dive where I can do anything I want. People need to take some personal responsibilty.

The idea that your ''dive op protects you'', has hurt plenty.

 

[scubadada]

There's a major difference between scuba diving and other recreational sports. If you do something stupid, have a major equipment failure, or have a serious medical problem, from any of which you are not able to recover, your risk of death is very high compared to a situation in which you can continue to breathe.

 

[MidOH]

If thats the point of view you want to take. My motorcycle is 1000 times more dangerous than any diving that Ive done so far.

Backpacking, week long, is one of the most dangerous hobbies, because it looks super easy and perfecfly safe. But it can go sideways quick. It's on par with diving IMO.

 

[lexvil]

I’m not 100% against nanny state policies but I tend to look at them at a skewed angle but this isn’t “nanny state” it’s nanny corporation and to that I’m more adverse.

 

[scubadada]

If thats the point of view you want to take. My motorcycle is 1000 times more dangerous than any diving that Ive done so far.

Backpacking, week long, is one of the most dangerous hobbies, because it looks super easy and perfecfly safe. But it can go sideways quick. It's on par with diving IMO.

Yes, motorbike racing has a higher risk of death than scuba diving, something like 35X

I never considered backpacking very risky, particularly with others. I solo backpacked in California and Oregon for many years, prior to the advent of modern communication. I did think of the risk of that activity. Of course, I was younger and healthier then.

 

[Johnoly]

There's a major difference between scuba diving and other recreational sports.

Very very true. And another 'telltale' sign that differentiates an accident in most other sports is "blood & bruises". Scuba accidents 90% of the time have no visible blood / bruises and leaves a huge gap for others to assign blame. No one after a scuba accident says "Well obviously he crashed "