Harrassment Dives
Q: Has DAN made a study on accidents/training levels? i.e. are most
accidents those with only OW certification?
I am only OW certified, a very conservative *recreation* diver and
never intend to get into situations beyond my training. Maybe just
the lure of that "once in a lifetime fish" sends people down deeper
than safe. Maybe, it's the drink/smoke before diving. Maybe it's the
level of swimming ability [I heard from others "you don't
really have to know how to swim to be a diver"
A: I was trained by an Instructor (and friend) who did not employ the harrasement techniques I've seen in this thread. He *did* cover safety, and did turn off the air (with prior warning) to show me what an out-of-air situation felt like. If he had employed the *training* techniques some of you have described, I would not be diving now. I consider myself a very safety conscious diver, and never *plan* on getting into an emergency situation. Now, for the idea that there should be a certification/specialty for emergencies. . . I find this idea very appealing, because you can never *plan* for emergencies to happen, and I would feel much safer if I could feel capable of dealing with situations in some sort of way that has been discussed and practiced beforehand. It may not guarantee a happy outcome, but it would go a long way toward preventing minor mishaps from turning into life-and-death