by
Larry
"Harris" Taylor, Ph.D.
This
is an electronic reprint of a letter to the editor that appeared in Discover
Diving (Feb. 1993, p. 6: SCUBA TIMES, Mar/Apr.1993, p. 13 & SOURCES,
Mar/Apr. 1993, p. 5). It has also
appeared on numerous web sites and computer bulletin boards. This material is
copyrighted and all rights retained by the author. This article is made
available as a service to the diving community by the author. This article may
be distributed for any non-commercial or Not-For-Profit application.
All
Rights Reserved.
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It
appears that once again our scuba industry is facing a serious polarization over
the deep/technical diving issue. A series of editorials in one major diving
magazine has called for rigorous enforcement of the 130 fsw limit with
implications of banning so-called "technical diving" (I am convinced that
some people consider anything NOT in warm tropical water with unlimited
visibility under the supervision of a divemaster of somewhat dubious credentials
to be "technical diving.")
The
lesson of history is that prohibitions and restriction NEVER work. I personally
believe the way to prevent stupid diving death (and ANY diving death is one too
many) is to properly apprise the diving community of reality so that proper,
informed risk/benefit decisions can be made. Regardless of personal diving
practices, we in the diving educational community have a moral obligation to
provide reliable information on all aspects of scuba diving to every member of
the recreational diving community. Restriction of information or condemnation of
those providing information is generally associated with fascist states, not
with any form of democratic society. Contrary to some MODERN (read superficial)
dive training classes, there are elements of diving more important that being
color coordinated!
From
personal experience, many novice divers, when informed of the actual risks
involved, will curtail their desire to "dive beyond the limits" while they
gain more knowledge, gather appropriate experience, and acquire better
equipment. Surveys indicate that a substantial portion of the diving community
has already been "below the limits." (Unfortunately, this being "below the
limit" has become to many novices a "badge of courage" or "marker of
manhood." It is sad that the 130
fsw limit has become, for some not fully prepared for this type of diving,
a "rite of passage.".) However, telling any diver to stop diving at some
arbitrary depth limit will most likely be as successful as the U.S. ban on
alcohol during the "Roaring 20's."
Historically,
there have been between 80 and 160 deaths each year in the U.S. while practicing
recreational scuba diving. Only a small portion of these was at extreme depths.
It has also been shown that deer, each year, cause, on average, about 130
fatalities in the U.S. (They constitute the single greatest statistical life threat of any animal in North America,) So, why don't we aim some
of these deep/technical-diving-will-kill-you-hysteria at Bambi? Then we can
direct our fruitful energy towards increasing the knowledge/skill level of the
entire diving community!
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About
The Author:
Larry "Harris" Taylor, Ph.D. is a biochemist and Diving Safety Coordinator at the University of Michigan. He has authored more than 200 scuba related articles. His personal dive library (See Alert Diver, Mar/Apr, 1997, p. 54) is considered one of the best recreational sources of information In North America.
All rights reserved.
Use of these articles for personal or organizational profit is specifically denied.
These articles may be used for not-for-profit diving education