What is the problem with doing a Scuba Review/Refresher?

[chrisch]

....
The skill check might just be a quick way to spot and head off potential problems, and probably would have no legal impact. My guess , of course....

I don't know about US law but UK law would suggest that the more you know the more you should act accordingly. So, for example, if all you know about a diver is they are certified to OW and haven't dived for 6 months that is all you know and the extend of your duty of care is relative to that. If, on the other hand you then assess that diver you have a higher duty of care if your assessment shows a defect. In short the assessment increases your "liability" to the diver, or at least your "need" to address the problem issue(s).

I can see this might be what's behind the OP's policy.

I think it is a very grey area and would make more money for the lawyers than the diver

 

[boulderjohn]

Here's a thought for you. You go to a car hire company, present your licence and credit card and select the car you wish to hire. Should the car hire company - ask you when you last drove a car and if more than 6 months require you to take a refresher course - ask you to drive round the car park, parallel park and demonstrate an emergency stop before letting you take the car out - or, having seen your poor driving skills refuse to rent you the big sedan or SUV and insist you take a sub-compact?

Cars kill far more people than scuba diving.

It would be a very unusual driver who rents a car without having driven one for a couple of days, let alone 6 months to a year.

 

[redacted]

It would be a very unusual driver who rents a car without having driven one for a couple of days, let alone 6 months to a year.

You mean like someone just coming back from a military deployment? Not that uncommon. And not something the rental agency even asks about. If you have a license and meet their age requirement, you can get a car.

 

[chrisch]

It would be a very unusual driver who rents a car without having driven one for a couple of days, let alone 6 months to a year.

I have never been to Boulder, but I lived in London for 5 years without a car at all. It makes no real sense to have one in London and is much cheaper to rent a car when needed, I would bet that is true of places like Tokyo as well. Whilst your observation is maybe true for much of the US it is not quite as cut and dried elsewhere. Anyway I meant it to serve as an illustration. The rental company have no knowledge of your driving activity and are in the same position as the dive op.

What is your view on it? Would you lend your own car to a friend that hadn't driven for a year (maybe in prison for example - I hope none of your friends are - but it is another example)

Would you rent me a left hand drive auto when I normally drive a right hand shift?

 

[boulderjohn]

I stand corrected.

 

[chrisch]

I stand corrected.

Not at all. I picked a bad example for where you live that is all.

Thinking about it a better one for the US is probably light aircraft. What are the FAA rules? I believe you have to have a number of logged hours to fly. It's common here (and I guess in the US) to rent a plane rather than own one.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I have never been to Boulder, but I lived in London for 5 years without a car at all. It makes no real sense to have one in London and is much cheaper to rent a car when needed, I would bet that is true of places like Tokyo as well. Whilst your observation is maybe true for much of the US it is not quite as cut and dried elsewhere. Anyway I meant it to serve as an illustration. The rental company have no knowledge of your driving activity and are in the same position as the dive op.

What is your view on it? Would you lend your own car to a friend that hadn't driven for a year (maybe in prison for example - I hope none of your friends are - but it is another example)

Would you rent me a left hand drive auto when I normally drive a right hand shift?

My daughter lived in San Francisco for 4 years while going to college and didn't have a car. No place to park in that city.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Rental company doesn't care. You and their vehicle are you nsured and most of the time renter is also buying overpriced insurance from the rental agency as well. It's neither here nor there to them, though they obviously make more money if you don't wreck the car.

How could a scuba op set up the same way?

 

[Rhone Man]

Not at all. I picked a bad example for where you live that is all.

Thinking about it a better one for the US is probably light aircraft. What are the FAA rules? I believe you have to have a number of logged hours to fly. It's common here (and I guess in the US) to rent a plane rather than own one.

Only slightly relevant anecdote, but I'll throw it out anyhow. A good friend of mine was a distinguished military pilot who served in the Vietnam war, and the worked for a civilian airliner for many years until he retired. A few years after he retired he decided to rent a light aircraft for the day to visit another Caribbean island with his family. But recognising he hadn't flow for many years, he asked if one of the flight instructors would give him a quick "refresher" the day before just to be safe.

My friend duly turned up the day before for his quick refresher carrying his log and all of his certifications, etc. But he told me that the poor flight instructor was so intimidated that he was afraid to make any kind of suggestions or comments at all during the "check out flight". Anyhow, both the check out flight and flight the next day went just fine, but an interesting reflection on a wise and experienced person being prudent enough to test their own limitations in a controlled environment.

 

[Zeagle Eagle]

Only slightly relevant anecdote, but I'll throw it out anyhow. A good friend of mine was a distinguished military pilot who served in the Vietnam war, and the worked for a civilian airliner for many years until he retired. A few years after he retired he decided to rent a light aircraft for the day to visit another Caribbean island with his family. But recognising he hadn't flow for many years, he asked if one of the flight instructors would give him a quick "refresher" the day before just to be safe.

My friend duly turned up the day before for his quick refresher carrying his log and all of his certifications, etc. But he told me that the poor flight instructor was so intimidated that he was afraid to make any kind of suggestions or comments at all during the "check out flight". Anyhow, both the check out flight and flight the next day went just fine, but an interesting reflection on a wise and experienced person being prudent enough to test their own limitations in a controlled environment.

While I was a very young Flight Instructor, my boss asked me to check out a pilot that was thinking of buying one of our airplanes. It was the Chief Pilot of a very large US airline. I was very intimidated. That didn't last long. Not very long into the checkout flight I realized this guy was nowhere near safe. Now, I had to tell him not only was he not going to pass the check out. I wasn't going to let him rent any of our airplanes without an instructor on board. Fortunately, he was a very wise and sage old guy and he preempted my speech with a "You know I just don't feel very safe in this airplane. How about I rent you for a couple of days and you bring me up to snuff." Whew! that got me out of an uncomfortable situation. Now I am that wise and sage old guy and I know my limitations and have no problem backing out when I start feeling uncomfortable.