Instructor shoving people off lines

[ppo2_diver]

These types of stories don't surprise me anymore. Every year, instructors/dive stores will rain their students down on top of my class at least once. I write if off as instructors who have never seen a class taught where students do skills while neutrally buoyant.

 

[stargost]

Interesting case. Seems the summer is hot at the dive park.
The last two times I went diving there I saw not as bad, but still interesting behaviors from classes:
1) Instructors and students getting in front of the line to get tanks. No big deal, we are doing SI, no rush, and I can understand they are working. BUT the attitude was unacceptable. Could at least say ‘sorry (we are on schedule)’.
2) My buddy has/had a knee injury and because the surge was pretty rough on coming back, I told her to wait, rushed out, took gear off and came back in to grab her gear.
Not only we were looked at ‘badly’ by a group of divers (i think at least an advance class), but also while getting the gear off and on to me (I’d say far enough from the stairs as the surge was bad) this group complained we were on the way :depressed:

To the case, I add that for likely anyone it would be extremely difficult to react well in this situation. It happens fast, you have your own stress, and are caught up in action by someone acting in a very unexpected way. Very tough call, and somehow interesting, as the option of being aggressive as a response is totally excluded. Definitely something to keep in mind and think about...

Regarding the boys, they are convenient for new divers as a reference, but indeed, better escape when you see a class coming. I would agree that it can be stressful for OW dive 1 student to descent and see divers doing the ascent. Irrelevant who owns them ! (it’s not an excuse to the jerk instructor referred by the OP)

And finally it might be sometimes good to weight yourself to be neutral at the surface with an 500psi tank… Dont bash me, i know it is maybe too much, but it provides a bit more margin, especially if you are not sure whether your buddies or group are correctly weighted themselves. At 25ft, you can easily compensate a slightly underweighted diver.

Thanks for the original post.

 

[boulderjohn]

Hey boulderjohn. How about the other side. Instructor pushes an unknown diver off a line who is having trouble, said diver pops to the surface and "embolised". What does the instructor say in court? And to his "students" regarding his actions?

I don't remember saying that what he did was right.

If his actions had led to harm to someone else, then he could be tried in court for his actions and likely found guilty. If you get pi$$ed off at him and do something that kills him, then you could be tried in court and found guilty, too.

Is vigilante justice what you are calling for? If someone pushes you out of the way while in a ticket line, is knifing him the correct response? After all, he did something wrong, so I get to do something wrong in return?

That seems pretty primitive to me.

 

[drbill]

To add a bit of levity to Brian's thread, a few years ago I was lying on the bottom filming something in 30-35 ft of water. I felt someone start to literally walk on my back. Then I felt several others follow the first one and, of course, the sediment around my subject got REALLY stirred up. When I looked up, I saw an instructor WALKING on the bottom (in 35 ft of water?) leading their class out to the training area. Either they never even noticed they were walking on top of me, or maybe it was an instructor I knew playing a joke? I doubt that.

 

[Clammy]

LOL that reminds of a thread I saw on the board a little while ago regarding a "Dive Training" magazine issue that was on buoyancy proficiency but depicted a diver standing on the sea floor! Which, admittedly, I've done in warm waters on sandy bottoms....

To add a bit of levity to Brian's thread, a few years ago I was lying on the bottom filming something in 30-35 ft of water. I felt someone start to literally walk on my back. Then I felt several others follow the first one and, of course, the sediment around my subject got REALLY stirred up. When I looked up, I saw an instructor WALKING on the bottom (in 35 ft of water?) leading their class out to the training area. Either they never even noticed they were walking on top of me, or maybe it was an instructor I knew playing a joke? I doubt that.