Accidents are going to happen to divers from all agencies...Kenny - OWI/ScientistNovember 27, 2006 at 09:59:19The incident/accident report form (yes, have a look on it's front page - that's what it's called) requests dive incidents/accidents to be
reported no matter what the training agency. Ergo, the report isn't confined to BSAC incidents, it's only confined to incidents reported by ANY diver. The only limiting factor is the number of divers reporting. It's fair to say more BSAC divers than other agency divers will be aware of the report, having it introduced to them at a very early stage in their training, but any agency is certainly welcome to report. As more BSAC divers are aware of
the report, then it naturally follows that more BSAC divers will report, and that more BSAC divers will be represented in it. To use the report to say more BSAC divers are involved in incidents/accidents is, of course, incorrect. To those posters who have stated that incidents and accidents befall BSAC divers more, simply trawl through the "safety news" section of CDNN (and for the reactionists who don't like the use of the word "incident" it must boil
your blood that accidents are "safety news"!), find out how many divers are BSAC or PADI, or NAUI. Just to give you a clue, if there are any incidents where an on-shore (or boat) Dive Marshall wasn't present, they're unlikely going to be BSAC divers. Accidents are going to happen, to divers from all agencies. Some have better safety training than others. Some train divers over months rather than days. Accidents will still happen. I can also
address the declining membership issue of BSAC. Other agencies train fast (I was recently at a resort where you could qualify as Advanced Open Water within 6 days). BSAC don't train fast, all club instructors are unpaid volunteers making the training very inexpensive but generally more lengthy. Everyone wants things fast, and I can see the attraction. From zero to hero in 4 dives! However with fast-track qualifications comes a risk, something that new divers are rarely fully aware of. From the safety reports I read here, I can see exactly where inexperienced divers, out on their own (even in buddy pairs), realise too late that they're out of their depth literally or metaphorically. And that's a tragedy. That could be avoided. | 
