While we've certainly, and very tragically, lost some divers over the years, I would say that most of the incidents in the last few years have been due to people ignoring or losing sight of some of the most fundamental rules of diving.
- Don't go on a dive you're not properly trained to handle Surf and depth are the problems here.
- Don't go on a dive when conditions are worse than you are trained/experienced to handle Surf is the major problem here.
- Always pay attention to your air supply Depth and long swims under the kelp canopy are the problems here.
- Always pay attention to your buddy/team True of all diving.
- Maintain your gear properly, and/or always rent from reputable dive shops and test everything! True of all diving.
You'll notice that 3 out of 5 of these are rules where mistakes happen on land, before even entering the water. One could also say, 5 out of 5 are true regardless of where you dive.
Every year many, many thousands of dives are done safely in Monterey. The accidents make up a tremendously regrettable, but statistically insignificant fraction of those. By and large, Monterey diving is as safe as diving in most other locations. The key thing about Monterey diving - like any diving - is to know your limits, and always stay within them. There is a certain amount of local knowledge that is necessary or at least useful. One great thing about this forum is that there are a number of divers at all levels of skill here, and many of the more experienced divers are usually up for going diving with new divers. It's a great way to get used to some of the issues involved in diving here with some mentoring, and have a great time too!
I know you recently attended the GUE/BAUE info session at Any Water Sports. GUE Fundamentals is a fantastic class to take if you're interested in developing a very solid set of core diving skills (which absolutely includes buddy/team awareness), and promotes a very safety conscious diving philosophy. You may not be aware of this, but by my count, only about 25% of BAUE divers are tech divers. The majority of members are simply very comfortable, appropriately confident recreational divers. ALL of the members are having a tremendous amount of fun diving in our local waters.
I hope this helps... Please don't miss out on our fantastic local diving - it really is beautiful!
Brian