Is Diving Safe?

Is diving safe? 

If you listen to some of the leading dive training agencies you'll read things like "diving has an excellent safety record".  On the other hand, when we are underwater, obviously we can drown and there are less obvious dangers (entanglement, decompression sickness, gas embolisms, etc.). You may have seen anecdotal news or social media accounts of divers who have been injured or died pursuing the sport we love. 

So is diving safe or dangerous? The answer is not black and white. 

Let's look at some statistics that compare dive fatality rates to other common activities to put the risk in context. Then we'll take a deeper dive considering qualitative factors that impact your particular risk. 

Fatality Rates by Activity

That means the risk of dying on one scuba dive is about:

• 65-260 more likely than on one commercial plane flight 

• 35-140 more likely than on a car ride 

• 2-7 times more likely than doing a skydive

• 1-5 times as likely as going for a motorcycle ride

Obviously then, scuba diving is NOT perfectly safe. 

Anyone who tells you otherwise is either ignorant of the data or trying to sell you something. Diving is much riskier than driving, and it can even be as dangerous as stereotypically dangerous activities like motorcycle riding.  However, it is much less dangerous than some extreme sports such as BASE jumping, wingsuit flying, or climbing mountains like Everest. 

But what about from a qualitative perspective? Do we have to accept a risk of dying that is about 1 100,000 per dive? No. 

Learning to dive is a lot like learning to drive a car. Both activities require you to get some book knowledge to become familiar with your equipment and the "rules of the road" before you ever get "behind the wheel" or in the water. Both require that you then get enough practice in real-life situations, under the guidance of a licensed/certified person so that handling your equipment becomes automatic and easy. 

This analogy helps us answer the question of "whether diving is dangerous" in a way that is useful for you as a diver. Much of your safety as a diver is within your control. Just like when you get behind the wheel as a driver; when you scuba, you make choices that strongly influence your risk.  Let's stick with this analogy for a bit.

Conservative drivers who anticipate problems before they become accidents, stay within speed limits, leave a safe following distance, service their vehicles when they need maintenance, wear seatbelts and reduce distractions will generally have few accidents. They can often "fail safely" when the unexpected happens. For example, going the speed limit (or under) and leaving a good following distance gives even a distracted driver a better chance to react to an upcoming hazard and avoid an accident. 

Driving IS a risky activity, but many drivers manage this risk effectively by applying defensive driving techniques and following the rules of the road. The best drivers continually reflect on their experience to become better. As a result the expected accident rate for careful (and more experienced) drivers is lower - and so (usually) are their insurance premiums!

In contrast, unwise drivers who choose to speed, tailgate, text, drink alcohol, drive fatigued, or ignore the rules of the road are a danger to themselves and an accident waiting to happen. 

Similarly, scuba divers who push (or break) the limits, or who dive without sufficient care are more likely to get hurt and, sadly, sometimes pay for their poor judgment with their lives. I say this not to scare you, but to encourage you to be better than the average diver. 

The dangers of diving can be reduced by making conservative choices, maintaining good health and fitness (medical events are a top cause of dive fatalities) and continuously improving your decision-making and technical skills - with training and reflection.  

In your Open Water scuba certification class almost everything you learn is designed to keep you safe. This training is effective, but only if you put it into practice after you're certified. Many divers who come to harm underwater have drifted away from (or never learned) the established best practices for safe diving. Don't be one of these divers.

You may see other divers who have become complacent or believe they are unlikely to make a mistake, so their attitude is "I don't need to do a full, careful, written pre-dive safety check with my buddy. I'm an experienced diver - that's for beginners". Or you may see certified divers who blithely will follow their instructor and guide anywhere - without having any idea where they are, how much gas and no deco time they have remaining, or how to navigate back to the boat/shore.  

Be better.  Proactively cover yourself with layers of safety.

Safety best practices in divinghave been put in place from lessons learned from fatalities and accidents.  You should make sure that you keep yourself safe on every dive. 

• Ensure you have good cardiovascular fitness and are not ill or injured before diving.

• Plan your dive conservatively within limits (plenty of gas, no deco time, do not go deeper than your training and gas mix allows).

• Before you dive, hold a "dive brief" with your buddy. Discuss what you plan to do, what limits you will follow (gas, depth, no deco time, etc.), how you will communicate, and how you will respond to issues (e.g. buddy separation, out of gas, etc.) and what it would take to end the dive or turn around.

• Debrief with your buddy after every dive and ask "What went well and why?" and "What could we improve and how?" so that you can learn and become better for the next dive.

• Know how to handle issues that may arise, know where you are (and how to get back to safety/land/boat).

• Know when a potential dive exceeds the limits of your experience .

• Don't be afraid to skip a dive, end a dive, or get more training or experience before you attempt something you haven't learned to do yet.

One way in which diving differs from driving is that the ocean can be a less forgiving environment. 

If you don't pay attention to your fuel gauge and your run out of fuel while driving around town your car will stall and you'll be stranded on the side of the road. Not fun, but usually not life threatening.

In contrast, while diving if you run out of gas/air you can drown if you don't quickly find an alternate source. This means you need to follow your training: 

• Plan your dives (turn pressure, ascent pressure, reserve pressure) to not run out of gas/air

• Monitor your gas supply (and that of your buddy) regularly during every dive

• Always have an alternate air source (that tank on your buddy's back is one option - but only if they are nearby and have plenty of gas - a pony bottle is a different option)

• Know that you will make mistakes. We are all human. Build in multiple layers of safety so that if you make a mistake it isn't likely to become a problem and you can "fail safely". 

This is what your training is for - it teaches you to safely resolve common and uncommon issues that may arise in diving such as: being low on gas, your buddy kicked your mask off, your regulator came out, your mask flooded. 

OK, here's one more thought on the driving analogy. It is common in diving to take an Open Water course which typically involves just 4 dives in the ocean (or quarry, lake, etc.), and then become a "certified diver". Some divers take this to mean that they can then go and dive wherever they want and that they are now a competent diver. This is definitely not what it means to be a certified Open Water Diver. 

You Open Water Diver certification is just the start of your journey as a diver - it is a license to learn. Would a responsible parent  put a 16-year old daughter behind the wheel of a car, take her for 4 short training drives, and then hand her the keys and say "Congratulations sweetheart! You're now a licensed driver - why don't you take the car and go visit your Aunt in Portland" ? Of course not! That would be negligent and dangerous. 

Driving requires many hours of training before a driver is licensed and even then, many jurisdictions only gradually give new drivers privileges like driving at night or with distracting passengers. Similarly, when you've finished your Open Water course you are only a beginner diver. You only have a few hours of experience. You have probably only seen a couple of dive sites - and only under certain (usually very favorable conditions). You have practiced dealing with certain simulated issues underwater - but you probably haven't had to yet respond to many actual issues that can arise unexpectedly and without warning. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, it is great to be a beginner seeing the underwater world for the first time. Just remember that you are a beginner and take it easy until you gain more experience and education.  

After you're certified, stay safe by slowly and carefully building up your dive experience in conditions similar (or better) than what you were certified in. Stay within your training depth limits. Get more training by seeking out an "Advanced" course - and eventually - a "Rescue" course from a certified professional. In your advanced course you'll learn how to dive in a variety of different conditions. In a rescue course you'll learn more about how to anticipate small issues before they become big problems - and how to respond to in-water problems and emergencies should they arise. Keep practicing the skills you learned in your Open Water class. Do your full pre-dive/safety check for every dive. Practice clearing your mask, if you partner with a new buddy - take the time to discuss emergency air sharing and practice it with them until it becomes automatic and second nature. Maintain or improve your cardiovascular health if needed. Don't become complacent. 

Buddy up with someone who has more experience and a safety-first mindset. If you are diving with someone who has a blatant disregard for safe diving practices and frequently wanders off and leaves you (or surfaces with less than your agreed upon reserve pressure) - stop diving with them and find a more responsible partner. Your buddy is there to help keep you safe and make your diving more enjoyable (and in many cases they are your source of gas if you run out due to an issue or inattention to your supply). If they aren't up for that responsibility don't put your safety at risk by continuing to dive with them. 

Finally, a word about diving here in the Salish Sea (Puget Sound and surrounding areas). We have amazing dive sites here and so much to see and many sites are easily accessible from shore by car! It is a great place to dive. That said, our water is also cold, frequently murky, and we can have strong tidal currents. Divers usually use drysuits here which require extra practice and training to use safely. Our local dive conditions (and the thick, heavy gear we wear) can cause problems or induce panic if you aren't used to them. 

Get experience from a trained professional if you haven't been diving in cold-water, limited visibility conditions before you jump into the Salish Sea. Dive more conservatively here than you would if you were in a warm tropical location with 100-foot visibility. Diving in Puget Sound and other areas of the Salish Sea is challenging which makes it fun and exciting. But it also requires a bit of practice, preparation, and a safety-first mindset. 

To return to the driving analogy - it can be fairly safe to drive in tougher conditions like rain, heavy traffic, or even snow - with the right mindset, practices, and equipment. But you wouldn't ever want a brand new driver to experience these conditions for the first time without the help of someone more experienced. Diving is the same. Be honest with yourself about when the conditions are so challenging that it is best to dive another day - and when you might need more training or mentorship. Always respect the limits of your experience and training. 

Here's a paraphrased summary of PADI's safe diving practices along with some additional tips. Other dive training agencies have similar guidelines. These are a good summary of steps you can take to reduce your personal risk of getting injured or dying while diving. 

1. Maintain mental and physical fitness for diving - be honest with yourself if you need to get healthier or in better shape before diving. A good portion of dive fatalities have heart attacks as a root cause.

2. Get training in non-technical skills (human factors) such as decision-making, communication, situational awareness, how to build a psychologically safe environment with your dive team, teamwork, and leadership - while less tangible like being able to clear a mask or replace a regulator - these skills are arguably more important in promoting your safety. 

3. Be familiar with your dive sites.

4. Use complete equipment that is in good working order and with which you are familiar - make sure it is working by performing a thorough pre-dive safety/buddy check before EVERY dive. Use a written checklist so you don't forget steps.

5. Listen to dive briefings and directions from dive professionals, recognize when you may need more training.

6. Adhere to the buddy system (make sure you have a buddy who follows the safety guidelines too!)

7. As a recreational diver, use your dive computer (or dive tables) to stay within no decompression stop limits and always ascend slowly from your dives (30 ft/min is a reasonable max)... the last part of your ascent is where the relative pressure changes most rapidly and your ascent should be the slowest as you approach the surface. 

8. Maintain proper buoyancy - neutral underwater and positive (floating with an inflated BCD) at the surface. This means you need to do a proper weight check to make sure you don't have too much or too little weight. 

9. Never hold your breathe - breathe continuously underwater - particularly when ascending.

10. Use a surface support (float, boat) when possible.

11. Know and obey local dive laws and regulations.

Sources

1. About 1 in 50,000 dives is fatal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459389/

2. About 1 in 100,000 guided dives is fatal: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8426127/