Would Government Regulation of Diving Be So Bad?

[Wijbrandus]

Just what we need - yet ANOTHER government department to interfere with our freedoms and to tax us to pay for.

I say throw the idea in the trash. Every one of us has the right to do our own thing. Do it as safely or as risky as you want. I prefer safe and conservative, but I'm not about to support a program that will force others to play it that way too.

 

[octotat]

Just what we need - yet ANOTHER government department to interfere with our freedoms and to tax us to pay for.

I say throw the idea in the trash. Every one of us has the right to do our own thing. Do it as safely or as risky as you want. I prefer safe and conservative, but I'm not about to support a program that will force others to play it that way too.

Robert,

Other than our phone conversation I haven't yet met you, but I already like you based on this post. Do folks really want the same people of the DMV and the IRS running diving regulation? If so, I'll turn in my gear. Did you get that resevoir dive in Friday? We went Sunday to Chattfield for crawfish. Caught some, but not enough for dinner.

 

[H2Andy]

Your water as weight thread also had something to do with my stirring the pot comment.
Seems to me that thread was a troll. If not perhaps you need to brush up on the section in the certification course on Archimedes Principle.

Captain

you're awfully suspicious of the motives of others

 

[TCDiver1]

I have not seen evidence that a) there are significant numbers of divers posing a threat to themselves and others and b) even if there were, there is similarly no evidence that training, or rather the lack thereof, is the source of the problem.

In the absence of support for your premise, it is difficult to justify governmental intervention.

All internet wizardry aside Boat has drilled down to the essential central point IMO. If it ain't broke, it don't need fixing.

Otherwise, show me the bodies. Then prove to me that training is the major cause for those bodies. Lastly, convince me the Fed will actually improve the situation. A tall order on all points.

Besides, as noted earlier, i'd rather have the Fed/States concentrating on things that really affect most of us. Diving is way, way down that list for me.

 

[Mako Mark]

the ONLY alternative is an ever-rising body count.
.

wholesale slaughter of divers.

Andy, there is no rising body count, all statistics show a falling rate of mortality and morbidity in diving.

I have to agree with Mike Ferrarra, there is no need of governmental intervention as long as the RSTC does its job.

The only thing that the government could do that may be seen as positive intervention would to mandate training agencies to maintain membership of RSTC.

 

[H2Andy]

mark, i was saying that those things you quoted would be the only justification
i could see for govt. intervention.

NOT that the massacre is going on right now

(jus to clarify)

 

[mania]

no they didn't. no recreational diver ever stole any secrets
from the Ruskies by tapping cables.

the cable tappings were accomplished by specialized submarines and US Navy divers.

also, only two cable tappings have been declasified that i am
aware of (Murmansk and Oskhosh (sp?), so you are either
making stuff up or violating national security.

I didn't meant stealing cables or tapping them. At least here in Poland it was mostly the ability to get close to party aparatchik summer house and ......
And here goes the sick mind and imagination of communists.
and I have no idea where dweeb get his info - I've never heard about it and I think i do know the history of this region quite well.

Commercial diving is here regulated by government - there is a separate law than outlines all the requirements for commercial divers.
As for recreational divers - as I wrote before - every teaching agency has to have a certification from the Ministry of Education. another thing that is regulated by the law is the obligatory medical check for diving (it consists blood test, x-ray of lungs, heart EKG and EEG of the brain) - in fact we should do the check every year and have a paper from certified scuba MD that we are physical fit to dive.
If you don't have it a lot of LDS may refuse diving with you.
But this is another part of the story - it was not what Andy was asking about.
Mania

 

[Mako Mark]

mark, i was saying that those things you quoted would be the only justification
i could see for govt. intervention.

I have a new one Andy, yesterday I posted a trip report about a dive site that had access restricted for certain archaelogical reasons and a board member objected and had the post removed.

I must admit I was a bit suprized to have the post removed, but it got me thinking about governmental restrictions to access to dive sites.

Here in Cancun, the major dive sites are all restricted by the national park laws, evreyone MUST pay a $2 entry fee, and ALL guides must be certified by the parks authority.

The Mexican Government has also mad inroads to regulating diving with some positive, but also some absolutely absurd requirements. for example a dive instructor needs to take a 200 hour university course, or lose their immigration status (althouhgI have yet to see this implemented)

I know tha there have been some sites in Florida (Eagles Nest) that had restricted access for percieved safety reasons.

I think it is inevitable that governments intervene in the balance between recreation and conservation of sites that are accessable to recreational diving, but they should stay out of training as we already have a consensus organisation that has no profit motive (RSTC)

 

[MikeFerrara]

There are MANY sites even here in the US where access is regulated by one government body or another.

We have a quarry oporated by a county parks department where we used to be able to dive any time of the day or night. It was real handy.

Now you can only dive when a divemaster is on duty. That's weekends and hilidays only and only daytime hours. Oh and they close early if they don't have many divers.

The only other way to get in is to be a insured instructor and arrange to be able to open it up yourself. In which case all divers have to be in a single group or the supervising instructor must stay on the surface and supervise. So...essentially it's supervised diving only.

As Mark said there are many sites in florida that are "restricted" some even require a guide and others are just plain closed.

Rather than address the reason that divers suck in the water the government, insurance companies and other land owners just regulate the dive sites themselves.

Laguna (sp?) beach? By law you have to have a snorkel and can't solo dive?

the rest of the seven seas aren't regulated but that's because they know that most divers need to use a charter (baby sitter) to dive it otherwise it probably would be.

Government is already there folks and it's just going to tighten up as time goes on.

 

[dweeb]

no they didn't. no recreational diver ever stole any secrets
from the Ruskies by tapping cables.

the cable tappings were accomplished by specialized submarines and US Navy divers.

Funny thing is, on sonar you can't tell the difference, and anyone behind the iron curtain who could afford their own dive gear might just be in the pay of Western intelligence agencies.

also, only two cable tappings have been declasified that i am
aware of (Murmansk and Oskhosh (sp?), so you are either
making stuff up or violating national security.

At least 4 have been openly discussed on PBS documentaries and others were alluded to. Go arrest Ernie and Bert.