What's the most unpopular benign/non-polarizing opinion you hold re: diving?

[BRT]

I remember that well. Whew! Heady times. I worked at a gas station at the corner of Lake Barton Drive (now Semoran) and Lake Underhill Rd. We mostly repaired vehicles, but when gas prices spiked, it was nigh to impossible to get into our shop. The owner thought it was really stoopid and stopped selling gas altogether. The gas was for only staff and we had to be careful how we pumped it or the lot would fill up. That was at the beginning of the electronic revolution in cars and we started seeing a lot more electronic ignition and even installed a lot of after market units. ANYTHING to improve gas mileage. Additives were all the rage too and we started moving away from rebuilding parts like brake shoes and fuel pumps to buying them ready to bolt on. Cars started downsizing, McPhereson Strut suspensions and disc brakes started to really become popular. Safety was being built in by necessity to increase MPGs. In addition, the earliest smog appliances, the lowly PCV valve was having an impact on the amount of oil on the road. The drip tubes of yesteryear were slowly being replaced by the PCV valve and the danger of black ice was reduced dramatically. Inadvertently, safety was improved. Yeah, it was a fun time to be a mechanic. Not as radical as 81 when the first computer modules hit cars, but fun nonetheless.

Interesting. In the warm areas they call oil on the road "black ice"?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Where do you stop? If 55 mph is safer than 65 mph, might 45 mph not be safer than 55? That's my point; there's some often poorly-reasoned line people draw where one side's too dangerous, the other isn't. I'm curious how people draw that line where testing CO levels in scuba tanks is concerned.

People do the same thing regarding nitrox. In spite of the fact that DCS occurs in less than .01% of dives on air many insist they are reducing the risk by diving nitrox.

 

[TMHeimer]

I heard somewhere that the nationwide 55 mph limit was set to control fuel usage for a period of time, and some noticed afterwards that mortality rates dropped. Wikipedia's National Maximum Speed Law page says: "It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis.

While Federal officials hoped gasoline consumption would fall by 2.2%, actual savings were estimated at between 0.5% and 1%."

Turns out there are other factors that can play into reduced fatalities.

Where do you stop? If 55 mph is safer than 65 mph, might 45 mph not be safer than 55? That's my point; there's some often poorly-reasoned line people draw where one side's too dangerous, the other isn't. I'm curious how people draw that line where testing CO levels in scuba tanks is concerned.

It's a tangent outside the intended scope of this thread, & I doubt there are hard & fast answers to be had anyway, so probably better to accept various viewpoints have been expressed and let it go (or make a separate thread).

Richard.

Agree with all you say. Yes, of course the speed limit was changed because of the Oil Embargo. But later the Govt. decided to add that it made driving safer. Years later when we found out there was no world shortage of oil it was OK to raise back the speed limits. Your point about 45 mph being even safer, etc. was one I made in maybe 1976? I'm sure there are those who apply some of this logic to tank CO levels as well.

 

[NYCNaiad]

New unpopular benign/non-polarizing opinion which just occurred to me:

While I haven't been to Bonaire yet, the thought of going to Bonaire just doesn't excite me.

I'm Nitrox certified and have never used it.

That's an interesting one! I have never heard of someone who got Nitrox certified who hasn't used it.

I actually think you don’t have to be a good swimmer to be a scuba diver!

You're going to have to explain that one. I agree that you don't have to be an expert swimmer, but don't you need to be good enough to swim out of trouble? Side note: Very few things make me shudder as much as seeing instructors or DMs literally push/pull divers around by the hand or tank.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

That's an interesting one! I have never heard of someone who got Nitrox certified who hasn't used it.

I only used nitrox as a deco gas for the first few years after I got the card. It wasn't until I began diving reefs in the 70-90' range every week that I used it as a primary gas.

 

[Steve_C]

All decisions are a balance. They ONLY way to avoid absolutely all vehicle deaths is to never drive cars at any speed. There are children killed in drive ways by cars going 2 mph. So once you decide you are going to have vehicles the question is what is the acceptable death rate, and how can we try to keep it down while still driving vehicles in a way that acoomplishes that goal.

By the way the death rate from riding horses is not zero either, so this applies to all modes of trasportation.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Keep your BC out of the camera bucket - please

not to mention your camera ... dip rinse the thing and move it out, so someone else can do the same. I really dislike it when someone drops their camera in the rinse tank and leaves it there so no one else can rinse theirs too ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

New unpopular benign/non-polarizing opinion which just occurred to me:

While I haven't been to Bonaire yet, the thought of going to Bonaire just doesn't excite me.

.. I just wish more people felt that way ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[cneal]

I really dislike it when someone drops their camera in the rinse tank and leaves it there so no one else can rinse theirs too ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I'm with you. It's a rinse tank not a soak tank.

 

[Kharon]

For the record - I hate (HATE) neoprene and even more dive flag lines. I so wish I could dive where I live without the two of those %#@&*!!! things.