Omar, how does substituting supervision for adequate training make diving safer?...Mario M - AOW/Business OwnerFebruary 21, 2006 at 12:03:25"Whichever organisation you learn diving from, all of them work towards safety in diving."
That kind of general comment reminds me of the inane stuff I read on the industry-controlled scuba boards. Seems like every time somebody makes a valid criticism, there's a scuba industry whore standing in the wings ready to rush in and defend a potential advertiser. PADI and the rest are not idiots--they certainly understand the bottom line is dependent on the public perception that scuba
diving is reasonably safe. And I for one have no problem slicing and dicing a full scuba training program into a step-by-step system of training. My problem is where new divers are expected to start. Certifying entry-level divers who REQUIRE supervision because they lack the skills to dive on their own does absolutely nothing to make diving safer. If effect, it shifts the burden of responsibility to the divemaster. Divers who
cannot rely on their own abilities to get out of trouble are doing "trust me" dives. It's one thing for divers to take unnecessary risks. It's quite another for PADI to endorse unnecessary risk-taking with a course that substitutes supervision for adequate training. | 
