How dangerous is diving?

[vladimir]

Ultimately, I would not consider fatalities as a good measure of danger. in most sports, including diving, fatalities are fairly rare. I would be much more concerned about other, non fatal injuries. spinal cord injuries can devistate a life and family. Broken limbs can lay up skiers for weeks and cost thousands in medical bills, not to mention lost productivity and wages. I have seldom seen divers requiring medical attention after a day of diving, while I have seen that Skiers tend to keep the ski patrol busy fairly busy. True when you make a bad decision diving the price can be high, but any activitie using gravity assisted acceleration can make a bad situation worse very quickly.

Interesting point. When people drag out that old chestnut that "you're more likely to get hurt bowling than diving" I imagine comparing a smashed thumb to paraplegia. But I would not be surprised if deaths are a pretty good proxy for overall danger. In most cases, if there is risk of death there is a roughly proportional risk of serious injury, it seems to me, though each sport probably has a different curve, and I would agree that scuba's curve is steeper than most.

As a number of people have noted, diving is as dangerous as you make it. I tend to worry more about the driving to and from dive sites much more than the actual dives. at the end of the day I am tired and I have a couple of hours in the car surrounded by thousands of other drivers who I don't know anything about or their abilities. When I dive I am focused and alert with people that I know and trust. I am mentally prepared for challenges. risk free? No, but I have a lot more control over my dives than I do over the drive to and from the site.

You may not be weighing the risks properly. Based on the risk comparison I linked to earlier (Understanding uncertainty: Small but lethal | plus.maths.org), on average, driving less than ~1,250 miles is less risky than one scuba dive. You may also be overestimating your control over your scuba diving risk. We see enough "undeserved hits" to question the predictability of DCS. Not to mention the unpredictability of the marine environment. You may also be underestimating your control over your driving risk. Of course you don't have control over other drivers, but you can use defensive driving techniques to minimize your exposure to them.

Book of Odds--Sharks or Vending Machines: Which is Deadlier?

death by shark, while unpleasant, is less likely than death by soda machine.

Jellyfish and deer are more likely to do you in....

5 Things More Likely to Kill You than a Shark Attack - Book Your Dive

These are naive risk assessments. Dividing the number of shark attack deaths by the population is lazy, and does nothing to measure the true risk. You need to look at the population exposed to the risk. Iowans who have never left the state are not at risk of shark attack, and should not be in the denominator. From the perspective of somebody who spends time in the ocean, those shark-attack risks are understated.

My cousin was killed in a deer related accident. not met many people injured by sharks. I actually am yet to see a shark underwater in CT/RI (but have been looking forward to it...)

This might be an even worse metric of risk, a survey of people you know.

 

[CT-Rich]

There are a large number of ways to die and we all eventually get one of them assigned. my point was more that there are a far large spectrum of negative out comes aside from death that can result from activities other than death. Knee, back and head injuries are disturbingly common in some sports and are quite uncommon in others, like diving. When weighed in total, I would worry more about diabetes and other diet related issues than diving (I speak as an american, where obesity is a growing problem).

While there are risks involved in diving, as your webpage points out it is difficult to calculate the risk of low probability events. While driving to and from the dive site may not in itself present a statistically greater risk, it is part of a activity that produces an over all higher risk to my life ( I unfortunately spend a lot more time in my car than diving).

If I was going to make a rational descision between diving and skiing, I would give up soda and bacon. The health advantages of both these sports far outweigh the negative health impact of drinking soda and high cholesterol/sugar/sodium foods. If you include the negative health impact of the soda in the machines, or the sodium laden pork rinds and chips etc from vending machines and compare it with the negatives of SCUBA or skiing, the vending machines are killing a lot more people than sharks or errant trees. The health benefits of an active lifestyle are mountains compared to the mole hill of risks.

Life is full of risks and we ignore the most common place hazards, like poor diet/exercise, a fall in the home and worry about dangers that while less likely are more clearly identifiable (shark attack, lightning strike, skiing into a tree). We relate better to these accidents so we worry about them, but when we get home from work or school we leave clothes and shoes randomly on the stairs or floor and eat highly refined foods that with loads of sugar, salt and cholesteral.

At the end of the day, I minimize risk while diving by mitigating them as much as possible. I also eat lots of fruits, vegetables and nuts, avoid sweetened drinks and red meats. I tell my kids to put clothes in the hamper and wear a seatbelt when driving.

I would rather die a diver than as a risk averse non-diver.

 

[vladimir]

If I was going to make a rational descision between diving and skiing, I would give up soda and bacon.

Well said. That is one of my pet-peeves, and it is in the background of every risk-related conversation on ScubaBoard. If you're sitting on the couch for hours agonizing over the failure potential of your Fastex harness buckle, you are probably missing the big picture.

 

[dadediver]

OK, I know - it's an old chestnut but one that is difficult to answer when asked.

I was prompted by a comment from my Dad who matter of factly said that diving was macho and that's why I do it... my own fault really as in the past I always went for the stuff that I thought would get the girls... but I am now 38 with two kids!

Skiing is his preferred pursuit.

Trying to compare the safety records of the two sports is difficult if not pointless to say the least - it all depends on what type of diving, what type of skiing and as ever whether or not the accidents were the result of complete stupidity.

My only thought is - I have never been injured diving, I have never been injured skiing. Both my Dad and brother have, on the other hand been injured skiing (we always ski together). So that tells me, nothing (other than I don't want to dive with them ).

But back to my original question - how dangerous is diving? and as an aside - as I used to strap on my ski's with little or no planning - is our training and approach so materially different to other sports that what is a generally risky activity is rendered safe?

Diving is about as dangerous as it gets. If I were you, I would listen to your dad and pick another hobby.

---------- Post Merged at 12:19 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:15 PM ----------

If I was going to make a rational descision between diving and skiing, I would give up soda and bacon.
At the end of the day, I minimize risk while diving by mitigating them as much as possible. I also eat lots of fruits, vegetables and nuts, avoid sweetened drinks and red meats. I tell my kids to put clothes in the hamper and wear a seatbelt when driving.

I would rather die a diver than as a risk averse non-diver.

Soda and bacon doesnt kill someone. It is the over indulging in eating/drinking soda and bacon. Look at the serving sizes. However, it seems that even the divers with high dive counts are perishing.

Diving is a dangerous sport and should not be attempted. Maybe with this honest assessment, the dive charters and dive spots wont be so damn busy.

 

[faze]

So then, more importantly, is this a good point to bring golf into the equation...

Specifically whether European golfers are more deadly that American ones ?

 

[dadediver]

So then, more importantly, is this a good point to bring golf into the equation...

Specifically whether European golfers are more deadly that American ones ?

Dont forget bowling. I gave up both, golf and bowling due to the high crowds and drunks and took up SCUBA and skydiving and now these hobbies are getting crowded and polluted with alcohol.

 

[drbill]

With the proper training and attention to your diving it is probably a lot less dangerous than what I face driving the freeways of Los Angeles. Although I have done many dives that some might consider "technical" and "dangerous," most of my diving is very safe and relaxing.

 

[k ellis]

Id say as long as you dive within your limits and training. (Or experience) then its as safe as walking down the street. All too often we see people go diving in conditions they are not yet prepared for. Such as diving deep just right out of Open Water or night diving without understanding the needs of it and what to expect.

All in all though you kind of have to compare it to driving a car. Once you pretty much well get used to it then its second nature and youll find yourself doing it all the time. But one mistake can leave you paralyzed or even dead. But as long as you pay attention to whats going on around you and monitor your air and NDL you are pretty much guaranteed to be safe!

 

[ChrisMan]

Diving is dangerous. We mitigate by training and diving within the limits of that training. Any answer that says it is not "dangerous" seems to me to be a little odd.

 

[fisheater]

How about "As dangerous as make it."?


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