What are Scuba Diving Safety Practices?
Learning Dive Safety is Important In Preventing Diving Accidents
© Jim Bray
Nov 26, 2008
Scuba diving is an unpredictable and inherently risky sport. Divers need a positive attitude, a good level of physical fitness and must avoid taking unnecessary risks. These things are essential to lessen the chance of having a diving accident.
Though diving accidents are rare, they do happen and sometimes for no apparent reason. They are often caused by unsafe behavior and conditions.
Safe Diving Practices
To reduce the likelihood of problems occurring, divers should never dive without proper preparation. Part of this is to understand safe diving practices. PADI sums these scuba diving safety tips up in their Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding.
1. Maintain good mental and physical health for diving.
2. Be familiar with dive sites or dive with a dive guide.
3. Use complete, well maintained, reliable equipment that is familiar.
4. Listen carefully to dive briefings and directions by the dive staff.
5. Always follow the buddy system. Plan dives and dive with a buddy.
6. Know how to use dive tables. Make all dives no-decompression dives. Be a safe diver. Slowly Ascend From Every Dive.
7. Maintain proper buoyancy. Neutral buoyancy underwater, positive buoyancy at the surface.
8. Never breath-hold or skip-breath while breathing compressed air.
9. Use a boat, float or other surface support device whenever possible.
10. Know and obey local dive laws and regulations.
In addition to these ten points of diving safety there is one more that is stressed in basic open water classes. New divers learn the importance of knowing their personal diving limits. They dive in conditions they have been trained for and are comfortable with. Divers can expand their limitations by taking advanced or specialty dive courses.
Problem Solving
Though most dives go smoothly and without incident, minor problems while scuba diving sometimes occur. Skills for solving problems while diving are taught at all levels of certification. Anticipating a problem is the first step in solving it.
The best method of solving problems is to stop, think, breath and then act. When a diver learns this basic principle he can usually solve minor problems underwater without having to come to the surface or abort the dive. If he remains focused and refuses to give up, he has a chance of solving more serious problems.
Another great method of problem solving is to use the ‘what if’ method. Divers will think of different situations like equipment failure, out of air/low on air problems or losing their dive buddy. They picture the situation in their mind and picture how they would respond. If they do this enough problem solving becomes a reaction that they do not have to think about.
Good problem solving skills will help divers keep minor problems from turning into big ones. These skills will also help divers not to panic underwater. They are able to stay calm and deal with the problem.
Safety for scuba diving is a combination of safe diving practices, good problem solving skills and common sense. These three things are necessary to minimize the chance of a problem or incident happening during a dive.
Be a smart diver by being a safe diver.
