Diving Statistics

[PvilleStang]

Hey all,

Just curious, I was wondering if anyone had specific statistics about the chances of diving injury vs. the certification levels, or any other relevant statistics. I've got a gf who bites her nails everytime I strap on the tanks (at least 3 times a month, if not a few times a week). She looked before and found statistics about OW diving, and how there's a 1 in 200,000 change of injury each time you go down. Well, she was relieved for about 30 seconds, then realized that I dive a little beyond those realms, but do so in an educated manor. So if you got anything, let me know!

Thanks

Kevin

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I don't know about injury, but diver death as per the DAN reports I have read and have done some personal summary, indicate the highest risk people generally are comprised of the following:

Over 40
less than 20 dives in last year
OW or AOW trained as their highest level
Less than 60ft of water
Between 25% - 33% were OOA/Gas issues that preceeded the final event


Interstingly enough as well, if you're going to have an accident and die, I believe you're 60% more likely to have it on your first dive of the first day of a holiday. (Makes sense, but it was funny to hear that it was actually measured I guess).

In a nutshell, undertrained and under-dove divers for the most part.

Imagine that.

So train well with a like minded buddy, dive often together, dive within your level of comfort and training (whichever is less), would be my suggestion to not become a statistic.

I do believe DAN may have broke down the levels of certs the divers had, but I didn't track that, as the above was telling enough for me.

 

[ArcticDiver]

Hey all,

Just curious, I was wondering if anyone had specific statistics about the chances of diving injury vs. the certification levels, or any other relevant statistics. I've got a gf who bites her nails everytime I strap on the tanks (at least 3 times a month, if not a few times a week). She looked before and found statistics about OW diving, and how there's a 1 in 200,000 change of injury each time you go down. Well, she was relieved for about 30 seconds, then realized that I dive a little beyond those realms, but do so in an educated manor. So if you got anything, let me know!

Thanks

Kevin

There is no mandatory overall reporting and analysis if scuba incidents and accidents. Therefore no one can have what would be called specific, accurate statistics.

That said DAN has done some research and sampling. They publish the results on their web site and publications. From that information inferences can be made regarding the likelyhood of certain groups to suffer injury or fatality. Those can be useful to some degree as long as the user remembers what they are.

For your girlfriend a good answer might be to remind her of the hazards in your daily lives. What do we kill on the highways each year? Something around 40,000 people I guess. What about the accident rate of skiers? The point is that there is very little worth doing that does not entail some risk. How that risk applies to a specific person has more to do with that person, their attitudes and skills than anything else.

 

[bradshsi]

Again I don't know if it helps to reassure your girlfriend, but the BSAC annual accident report can be read here:

http://www.bsac.org/techserv/increp05/doc2005rep.pdf

On a more amusing and practical note the following was some information on the risks of various activities per hour of doing them. So while scuba diving is more risky than general living, it's much safer than flying a microlight

Fatalities per million hours

Skydiving = 128.71
General aviation = 15.58
On-road motorcycling = 8.80
Scuba diving = 1.98
Living (all causes of death) = 1.53
Swimming = 1.07
Snowmobiling = 0.88
Passenger cars = 0.47
Water skiing = 0.28
Bicycling = 0.26
Flying (domestic airlines) = 0.15
Hunting = 0.08
Cosmic radiation from transcontinental flights = 0.035
Home living (active) = 0.027
Traveling in a school bus = 0.022

Compiled by Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. (Design News, 10/4/93)

 

[PvilleStang]

For your girlfriend a good answer might be to remind her of the hazards in your daily lives. What do we kill on the highways each year? Something around 40,000 people I guess. What about the accident rate of skiers? The point is that there is very little worth doing that does not entail some risk. How that risk applies to a specific person has more to do with that person, their attitudes and skills than anything else.

I tell her this every day, and with driving, flying, skiing, ice skating, soccer, etc. She's just overwealmed by the idea of Decompression Diving. She just sits at the surface worried about me after I had to rescue an instructor on the surface in a drysuit incident a few weeks ago. She then accuses me of being Mr. Know-it-all, and says the instructor knew more than me, but still ended up on the surface yelling for help. I contribute that incident to a poor fitting drysuit, and incapability to perform emergency drysuit venting. Well, thank you gentleman and ladies for your help!

K.

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

on the bright sound, sounds like she loves you. or at least worries about you a lot so you can have her attention.

 

[SCOOBA PHAN]

Man, You Need To Find A Girlfriend That Dives. It's Just Beginning. Tom

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I was wondering about this, thanks for the thread...Wondering how many of the people that die scuba diving is there only activity?

 

[Scuba Brad]

Hey Brad great name!

Anyway.........you got me scared now. I'm looking at your stats, I thinking about sky diving, I'm an avid pilot, I grew up a desert motorcycle racer, I love to dive, I am obviously still alive, I have an indoor pool at my home that I regularly swim in, and to top it off I live in Utah the snow mobiling heaven. Hey Brad what is the mortality rate for typing on Scubaboard?

Do you think I might be at risk??? Someone do the math......and don't tell me.

Happy and Safe Diving

 

[stevenq99]

Wow! hunting is very low on the list. I am much more afraid of dying running around the woods with strangers holding loaded guns than diving.