Hi All,
There are dive boats I use regularly which are quite clear in their statement - "we are a taxi, no more, no less. We'll take you out to an agreed position, maybe to a permanent shot, maybe we'll shot it, and then we'll bring you back - up to one hour later. No more, no less". They've never carded me or anyone I know of.
I sometimes telephone for a taxi to take me into town for a beer. They don't ask me for proof of my age before they take me.
Here in the UK, one of the most dangerous professions is working from height. I can go into any store and buy a ladder. No-one asks to see if I've been trained.
I can buy power tools, petrol (gasoline), pressurised flammable gases (for a plumbing torch), you name it, I can come up with a huge long list.
Even the tyre inflator at my local petrol station (filling station?) lets me pump up my own car tyres? It has a scale way beyond what my car tyres need (I know because with my truck I set it for double).
There are a lot of dangerous things out there. Your kitchen knives could really hurt you. So could the fuse box (breaker box?) in your house. Do you have a cert card to let you near it?
Thankfully, I live in a place where most rules (generally) aren't specifically designed to protect the individual. Where rules do exist, they're there to protect the people around you who could unwittingly get hurt if you're stupid. That makes sense to me.
I've never been carded for a fill, and if I was I would simply go somewhere else. Here in the UK we have a ridiculous situation whereby our five year hydro's as governed by SITA set one rule, the law of the land sets another. I recently had a tank - fully tested, hydro'd etc by a thoroughly competent, respected and legally insured/liable firm, be refused a fill because it didn't have a SITA (Scuba Industries Trade Association) sticker. This firm deals with pressure vessels all day long, they have expert knowledge in their field far beyond what any technician in an LDS has. But their test wasn't good enough. If I took the same tank to an LDS for testing, an LDS who don't have that knowledge but have a sticker from SITA which can be attached by a 17 year old who has done "the course" then it would be deemed to be safe.
I know what I prefer guys and girls, and compulsory or even voluntary regulation is, in my humble opinion, a path I'd rather avoid.
Dive safe all,
Cheers
Bill