2airishuman
Contributor
I've been reading through accidents and incidents. Sobering stuff. I would like to hold up several common causes and suggest strategies for risk reduction.
1) Known minor equipment problems that are not fully remediated before the dive.
The leaky O-ring, the rental BCD that is too tight, the power inflator that doesn't work, the mask that keeps fogging, the reg that breathes a little hard. These comparatively minor items often serve as the metaphorical match that lights the forest fire.
Rental gear and inexperienced divers go together. The statistics appear to tell us that the dives after OWD certification and before dive 20 are the most dangerous, with dives after a long period of inactivity also being risky. These are the two profiles of the diver who rents gear. I wonder how much rented gear contributes to accidents. Maybe diving would be a safer activity if people purchased their gear before their OWD class, so that they would have access to familiar, properly fitting gear, in good condition, for the relatively risky period of inexperience.
The decision to dive broken gear is usually made at the dive site under circumstances when the alternative is to thumb the dive after time and money have been invested. Given the psychology and social and economic pressures of the real world, maybe having spares, tools, and knowledge for minor repairs is a safety item. This could especially be a factor for shore dives where no DM is present.
Checking out gear early when repairs can still be made isn't emphasized much in training. Maybe people should assemble and try on everything in your living room or hotel room if there is any doubt. Maybe new divers should be more picky about rental gear. Better to be "that guy" making a scene in the dive shop because the power inflator buttons stick or the XL BCD doesn't fit your 3XL body, than to end up dead.
2) Grossly overweighted divers who cannot control buoyancy and sink.
This is common enough accident pattern that I think training and gear configuration should emphasize being able to dump weight incrementally when the correct amount of weight is not known with reasonable certainty before the dive.
3) Drysuits.
Reading through accident and near-miss reports, loss of buoyancy control by beginners while drysuit diving would appear common. Switching from a familiar drysuit to an unfamiliar one, insufficient instruction, and poor fit contribute. I think the only reason we don't see more of this is that most inexperienced divers stick to warm water.
4) Economic pressure to proceed with a dive when weather, current, and visibility are unfavorable.
Particularly on the DM, who should have the most site-specific knowledge, but who will not remain a DM for very long by thumbing dives before they start. Not sure how to solve this.
1) Known minor equipment problems that are not fully remediated before the dive.
The leaky O-ring, the rental BCD that is too tight, the power inflator that doesn't work, the mask that keeps fogging, the reg that breathes a little hard. These comparatively minor items often serve as the metaphorical match that lights the forest fire.
Rental gear and inexperienced divers go together. The statistics appear to tell us that the dives after OWD certification and before dive 20 are the most dangerous, with dives after a long period of inactivity also being risky. These are the two profiles of the diver who rents gear. I wonder how much rented gear contributes to accidents. Maybe diving would be a safer activity if people purchased their gear before their OWD class, so that they would have access to familiar, properly fitting gear, in good condition, for the relatively risky period of inexperience.
The decision to dive broken gear is usually made at the dive site under circumstances when the alternative is to thumb the dive after time and money have been invested. Given the psychology and social and economic pressures of the real world, maybe having spares, tools, and knowledge for minor repairs is a safety item. This could especially be a factor for shore dives where no DM is present.
Checking out gear early when repairs can still be made isn't emphasized much in training. Maybe people should assemble and try on everything in your living room or hotel room if there is any doubt. Maybe new divers should be more picky about rental gear. Better to be "that guy" making a scene in the dive shop because the power inflator buttons stick or the XL BCD doesn't fit your 3XL body, than to end up dead.
2) Grossly overweighted divers who cannot control buoyancy and sink.
This is common enough accident pattern that I think training and gear configuration should emphasize being able to dump weight incrementally when the correct amount of weight is not known with reasonable certainty before the dive.
3) Drysuits.
Reading through accident and near-miss reports, loss of buoyancy control by beginners while drysuit diving would appear common. Switching from a familiar drysuit to an unfamiliar one, insufficient instruction, and poor fit contribute. I think the only reason we don't see more of this is that most inexperienced divers stick to warm water.
4) Economic pressure to proceed with a dive when weather, current, and visibility are unfavorable.
Particularly on the DM, who should have the most site-specific knowledge, but who will not remain a DM for very long by thumbing dives before they start. Not sure how to solve this.