Would you stay away from a dive shop that had an accident?

[Guille G]

If it’s a long-standing operation with a good record that I have reasons to choose (I have used them before, they come recommended, they offer a service unusual for the region, whatever) then probably not. Accidents happen, I am sure the dive ops favored on this board have had their own share.

I’d be interested in how they dealt with it if it was bad enough to make the news. Maybe ask them about it before signing up.

If it is just some random operation in a place where there are plenty of similar options though, then yes I may skip them out of convenience.

 

[berndo]

After all mostly done in pairs for no reason, do pre checks on all gear for no reason, routine service of all gear for no reason. But go on with your false beliefs. Based on some of your other post I expect to hear about you in the accidents thread at some point.

Base Jumping, free-solo climbing, some type of downhill biking, high altitude climbing, motorbike racing, etc, stuff where many people get hurt or killed compared to the number of people doing it. Diving is not high risk... it's simply not true.
You could spend 5 min googling and find out about accident rates, if you wanted to. Diving is very safe and a low risk activity. I get it, you wanna feel like a tough guy...

 

[berndo]

Cave. Deep deco dives. Deep wreck penetration etc etc for example

We're talking about normal OW diving and that is very safe.

 

[berndo]

Based on some of your other post I expect to hear about you in the accidents thread at some point.

Wow, if I had said that, I'd probably get banned and the post deleted.

 

[noserider]

As it was on Taketomi island, I am assuming the dive shop is on Ishigaki, most of which have been established a long time, have very strict standards, dive very day (bar typhoons) and all appear to operate to high standard by this Gains judgement, far better than many dive centres you see in SE Asia

My only concern on Ishigaki was that they limited the size of the tanks (10 litre?) and would only fill to 180 bar from memory as it was Japanese law. If / when I dive Ishigaki again I will hopefully dive side mount (need to get qualified) or will sling a pony

 

[formernuke]

Base Jumping, free-solo climbing, some type of downhill biking, high altitude climbing, motorbike racing, etc, stuff where many people get hurt or killed compared to the number of people doing it. Diving is not high risk... it's simply not true.
You could spend 5 min googling and find out about accident rates, if you wanted to. Diving is very safe and a low risk activity. I get it, you wanna feel like a tough guy...

All of those are also risk.

We do more risk mitigation than most of those you listed. If you need that much risk mitigation it is a high risk activity.

 

[berndo]

By that view of risk, commercial airline travel is high risk.

Yeah, following his logic, it would be. I mean, people can't fly.

 

[CT-Rich]

So we carry an extra second stage for no reason, many of us carry full backup breathing devices. We heavily filter and test the gasses for no reason. We often carry backups of everything else as well, according to you that's for no reason, not needed because you say it's not high risk.

The reality is diving is a very high risk activity. The reason there aren't more accidents is because only a small amount of the population does it and we carry redundancy in some often multiple forms.

Give me a break... We don't drive on bald tires and without seatbelts to mitigate risk. That we bring a safe second stage doesn't mean diving is dangerous, it means that it is safer if you learn and follow rules that make it safe. If you decide Stop lights don't apply to you, you make driving (or bicycle riding or being a pedestrian) extremely dangerous.

I have had exactly 0 (zero) OOA situations in hundreds of dives. I still bring an octo on every dive and on certain dives I would bring a completely redundant air supply. Your typical recreational, NDL diving is extremely safe. Just like any sport, you can f*** around and find out. Compared with skiing or mountain biking it is probably SAFER and has a lower physical fitness barrier than most other sports.

Can you die? Certainly. A bad hiking guide can get you killed.

To the OP. If someone dies on dive, should you avoid the shop? Was it some overweight guy with COPD that rented gear and drown during a cardiac event? Did they leave a dive site with people still in the water? Was it a student that was overweighted, panicky and left unattended on the bottom during a class by the shop owner? Was it a regulator failure immediately after servicing?

Most people, on the advise of their lawyers are going to keep their mouth's shut in aftermath of a diving accident. Information out of context can create a legal nightmare.

If you have a bad vibe about a particular shop that has been associated with a diver's death. Follow your gut instinct. If you have been on a dive and saw the boat or crew do questionable/ unsafe practices, follow your gut. At the end of the day, YOU are responsible for your own safety.

 

[L13]

If you need that much risk mitigation it is a high risk activity.

Commercial air travel?

 

[berndo]

If you have a bad vibe about a particular shop that has been associated with a diver's death.

I think that the best advice here and in general. If something seems fishy or just doesn't feel right, I'd go with another shop/instructor.