Should I feel as safe as I do?

[RJTY]

Recent activity on this board has put some thoughts in my head. Please take these thoughts as regards to all the accidents I have reviewed in general, and not one in paticular. I have only a little over 30 dives over four years. Most of them being the last year and a half. I respect my level of experience. I limit my dives according to my level of experience. I check my gear, and my buddies. I mostly always dive with someone I know well, or use a boat who is trained in medical emergencies. I am on this board often reviewing tips, accidents, and often ask questions. When I dive, I feel safe. I feel that I am well trained for the diving I limit myself to. I never have a thought, that I might be injured. This is what puts questions in my mind. Those who do suffer accidents, probably didnt have thoughts they would be injured either. There was a story recently, of a experienced diver found in 20 ft of water in the keys. I dont recall getting any other info on that case. Another one out of South Fl, I think they were thought to have been tangled. I dont recall any more info from that as well. I guess my point is: Should I feel as safe as I do? For those injured, did they feel as safe as I do when they start their dives? For those who had near misses, did you feel safe and confident when you start your dives?

 

[PerroneFord]

As a newbie diver with about the same number of dives, I am going to say no, you should not feel that safe. There is a LOT going on out there. I doubt I'll feel comfortable with 500 dives. But that's just me. Be diligent, do things safely.

However, its like driving. You can do everything right, have the right car, airbags, safety belt, don't speed, and still get hit by a truck. Life happens. Do your best. Perhaps seek more education from good instructors. Practice your skills and emergency procedures.

Really there is only so much you can do.

 

[Calvinandhobbs]

When you say you 'feel safe', do you mean you feel confident in your skills and ability to handle an emergency situation or do you mean it seems like an emergency situation just won't happen? You can see the danger in the latter.

I'm reading a book right now that analyzes how accidents occur during adventure sports (mountain climbing, white-water rafting, etc.). A common theme is how experienced people, who don't show proper respect for danger when in what is perceived to be a "beginner" situation, get themselves in to trouble. I don't remember the title, but will post it later if you are interested. Although I haven't come across a scuba-specific example in this book yet, it does address the issue you bring up.

 

[Web Monkey]

Should I feel as safe as I do? For those injured, did they feel as safe as I do when they start their dives? For those who had near misses, did you feel safe and confident when you start your dives?

For the most part, people get injured or killed when they do something dumb, cut corners, don't stay with their buddy, don't listen to or follow the dive briefing or go beyond or against their training.

As a new diver, if you dive within the recommended depth limits of your training, in conditions that don't make you feel creepy, you should be OK.

There should be a voice in your head that sometimes says "I shouldn't be doing this." Listen to it.

There is a lot of great information here (and sometimes some really bozo advice), and a lot of it isn't covered or is glossed over in OW classes. It's good stuff to read and remember in case you ever run into a similar situation.

The most important thing is that no matter what anybody says, when you're diving, you are responsible for yourself, not the DM and not your buddy. If anybody is going anyplace you're not happy, or wants to do something you think might not be safe, don't do it.

If you ever need to surface for whatever reason (low on air, feeling creeped out, uncomfortable, whatever), do it. There are a ton of examples here of people who were running low on air and didn't surface because their buddy or the DM didn't want to, then ran OOA or worse.

If you ever show someone your thumb and they don't give you an OK and start to ascend with you, show them your middle finger, and go anyway.

Pre-dive checks are important. Everything you dive with needs to be working 100% and you need to check this before each dive. Little problems turn into big problems quickly and anything that isn't right on the surface will only be worse underwater.

Dive within your limits in places that make you happy, with people you like, and you'll have a great time and be safe.

Terry

 

[RJTY]

What I mean is that, I feel that with the diving I do and the guidlines I follow, I feel like an emergency shouldnt happen, but if it does, I am trianed and confident to handle. So, when I get in the water, I am thinking of enjoying the dive, not feeling worried.

 

[TSandM]

I think we should ALL be thinking of enjoying the dive. If you aren't expecting to enjoy the dive, why would you do it?

That said, diving is not as safe as watching television (or maybe I'm wrong there), and keeping good safety habits (equipment checks, good dive planning) is a way to keep emergencies from happening in the first place. Keeping emergency skills (air-sharing etc.) sharp and practicing good buddy technique are also good ways to make sure that, if an emergency occurs, you are as well prepared as possible to deal with it. Continuing education (eg. Rescue or other advanced courses) will improve skills and competence as well.

But when I go down to dive, I don't feel UNSAFE. If I did, I wouldn't do the dive. I just respect the water and stay careful.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Train, stay within your limits, be vigilant-and you'll be fine. Your chances of having a serious accident in your car on the way to the dive spot are far more likely than having a accident while diving.

 

[Airborne!]

Second…If I did not feel safe and confident then I would never enter the water.

You don’t want to be the guy who says…”hmmm…I wonder if…OHHH CRAP!” Just follow the procedures and training you have set for whatever type of diving you do and have fun. The Rules and Standards, written and unwritten, are in place for good reasons. For example…getting badly entangled…you have a dive buddy…right…you both have knives…right? Everything from flying a plane to spelunking has Rules, Regulations, Guidelines and Training that were put in place for good reasons. Always show a healthy respect for what you do and have fun.

Don’t ever think that an emergency can’t happen. Guy drops his tank off the dive boat and 60’ later in that vast wide ocean it hits your tank valve and there you go. No biggie…do what you have been trained to do and you’ll come home safe. Maybe it hits your dive buddy in the head and knocks him out…once again…you know what to do and do it…right?

Speaking about not thinking an emergency can happen. Many well, and I mean well, trained pilots, military and airlines included, have crashed to their death because they did not realize or understand that they were in an emergency until it was too late. Their high skill level and unshakeable belief in their equipment would not let them come to the conclusion that they were in a real emergency until it was too late. At some point they needed to come to the conclusion that the plane was in trouble, but they never did. Or worse yet they took a situation that was savable and made it worse by trying to “fix” it.

There is no sense in worrying about things when you have done everything you can do to minimize the risks involved. Diving is about having fun.

 

[annie]

RJTY has touched on something which has been on my mind recently. I've done over 200 dives but only about 10-20 dives a year for the past 3 years. I have witnessed some accidents over time, and I've had some minor incidents myself, all of which were dealt with in a calm professional way and worked out fine.

>>For those who had near misses, did you feel safe and confident when you start your dives?<<

I have to say, definitely not! In fact I recently seem to have a growing level of anxiety which only starts up during the dive, never before. I find something to worry about, and have flashbacks of things which happened or things which could happen, and I am not enjoying my diving. I have put it down to the fact that I don't dive as frequently as I used to and amn't relaxed enough in the water. It's possible that I'm suffering from some sort of narcosis . . . .anyone else experience something similar?

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

RJTY has touched on something which has been on my mind recently. I've done over 200 dives but only about 10-20 dives a year for the past 3 years. I have witnessed some accidents over time, and I've had some minor incidents myself, all of which were dealt with in a calm professional way and worked out fine.

>>For those who had near misses, did you feel safe and confident when you start your dives?<<

I have to say, definitely not! In fact I recently seem to have a growing level of anxiety which only starts up during the dive, never before. I find something to worry about, and have flashbacks of things which happened or things which could happen, and I am not enjoying my diving. I have put it down to the fact that I don't dive as frequently as I used to and amn't relaxed enough in the water. It's possible that I'm suffering from some sort of narcosis . . . .anyone else experience something similar?

This may be of interest: Never Panic Again