Safe Diving Practices - Yes or No?

[DevonDiver]

Is it fair to say then that the "rules" are a KISS setup for beginner divers and those that don't want to explore the thinking behind said rules.?

It's an interesting discussion... because really, most of those recommendations are applicable at any level of diving.

There are some that are very relevant to qualification - the PADI recommendations are directly tied to their training syllabus, particularly in regard to the buddy system.

Depth recommendations/restrictions are quite universal amongst agencies, regardless of level.  There's very few courses that are 'open-ended' in terms of recommended post-qualification depth.

Apologies if this is long-winded (split into two posts)....

Here's my take on it:

1. Maintain good mental and physical fitness for diving. Avoid being under the influence of alcohol or dangerous drugs when diving. Keep proficient in diving skills, striving to increase them through continuing education and reviewing them in controlled conditions after a period of diving inactivity.

Non-diving medical conditions are one of the most frequent causes of scuba fatality - regardless of diving level, this is a common denominator. This issue is particularly relevant to more experienced divers and diving professionals, who are least likely to cancel a dive due to medical grounds.

This is a rule I have broken far too many times - because when working as a dive pro, cancelling dives has financial and business repercussions. I've hurt my ears several times by diving when congested/medicated. I even taught an OW course while suffering the tail-end of a bout of dengue fever.

...Keep proficient in diving skills, striving to increase them through continuing education and reviewing them in controlled conditions after a period of diving inactivity.

This one is relevant at all stages... just as applicable to tech or CCR divers as it is to open water qualified divers. I think it's something that gets more observation from experienced divers, than novices. It's pretty commonplace for tech divers to conduct a series of progressive check-out dives and skills practice after a lay-off. Many tech divers will practice a variety of core drills on every dive to ensure they remain ingrained. The average open water diver is far less likely to heed the requirement for a 'work-up' after a lay-off.

Continued education is an issue that is primarily dictated by the divers' mindset. It doesn't have to be a formal training course. I see this as the desire to continually refine and develop capabilities. Conducting internet research, diving with mentors, investigating and trialling new procedures and concepts, developing an understanding of wider issues (deco theory, dive medicine etc), learning new techniques applicable to specialist activities.... that is all 'continuing education' to me.

Some divers don't bother with that. Some do. Those that do, tend to progress into more advanced diving... and, if anything, the pace of their 'continuing education' increases with their experience.

I do observe these recommendations. I love developing my knowledge and skills. I love diving with mentors. I don't ever think that I can 'leap straight back in' after a lay-off; especially in regard to those activities at the outer boundaries of my skill-set/experience.

2. Be familiar with my dive sites. If not, obtain a formal diving orientation from a knowledgeable, local source. If diving conditions are worse than those in which I am experienced, postpone diving or select an alternate site with better conditions. Engage only in diving activities consistent with my training and experience.

This is pretty universal IMHO. It's specifically worded to be relevant to novice divers; but the concept is generally applicable to all. With the accumulation of experience and solid core diving skills, it is easy to translate diving ability into a variety of environmental conditions. The experienced diver might not need "a formal diving orientation", but they will tend to seek out local diving knowledge before conducting activities in a new area.

When I travel to a new site/area, I'll want to know what to expect on the dive; currents, water temperature, sea life, tides etc.   In some cases, I might need local advice on how to deal with those issues; but most of the time I'll already have the knowledge needed to apply the right solutions.

Do not engage in cave or technical diving unless specifically trained to do so.

This has been debated ad-naseum in a multitude of threads, so it doesn't need much amplification here.

Open-water recreational diving doesn't prepare a diver for the specific hazards of overhead, deco or mixed-gas diving. The danger of 'not knowing what you don't know' is very high; so I do believe formal training is a must. Having passed the barrier between rec and tec, I do then think that the requirement for formal 'con-ed' tech courses becomes more blurred.. experience starts to count for more than qualification.

3. Use complete, well-maintained, reliable equipment with which I am familiar; and inspect it for correct fit and function prior to each dive.

Common sense. Surely?

As you gain experience, the definition of 'familiar' becomes wider. For an OW diver, that can mean the difference between one brand of jacket BCD and another. For a more experienced diver, that can mean the difference between a jacket BCD, a BP&W or side-mount. It can mean the difference between alternative stage-mounting configurations or deco mix solutions. For a highly experienced diver, that can mean the planning cave exploration limits based on the relative performances of different scooter models.

That said, it's also something that gets abused by more experienced divers. As a dive pro, I've had occasion to use faulty dive gear... where the only other option was to cancel dives for my customers. I once spent a whole week diving with a BCD that was completely punctured and would empty in a few seconds on the surface. It didn't effect my diving. I didn't need it whilst submerged... but I knew that it could turn into a life-or-death issue if any incident occurred on the surface. I only carry 2lbs of weight.. so it never directly endangered me... but...but...

I've dived with 'leaky' regulators too. Completed dives with broken fin straps. Swapped a mask with a customer, when their mask had a torn seal and persistently flooded. All well within my capabilities to deal with.

I'm much more particular when I dive at the 'outer boundaries' of my skill set - particularly in regard to technical wreck penetrations or 'heavy' deco dives.

Not sure if 'breathing gasses' would fall into this category? I've done some very deep air dives...which far exceed limitations and recommendations.

Deny use of my equipment to uncertified divers.

I think this is good common sense really. It translates at all levels. I wouldn't hire basic scuba kit to an untrained person who walked into a dive shop. I wouldn't provide a trimix fill to a diver that hadn't done any tech training.

I don't care about the liability... I just don't want to be complicit in a diving accident.

Always have a buoyancy control device and submersible pressure gauge when scuba diving. Recognize the desirability of an alternate air source and a low-pressure buoyancy control inflation system.

This one is more debatable... insofar as it really addresses some (albeit rare) diving configurations that are available - specifically within the 'vintage diving' community. Unlike other equipment choices, there are unlikely to be specific training courses available for vintage divers.

It's good advice to novice divers though - as they may encounter some unscrupulous dive operations that don't hire 'modern' or 'complete' scuba kit. Or kit where all the components work.

This can be interpreted as 'use appropriate, working diving equipment, that you've been taught to use'. I wish it was worded like that... as that would make it much more universal.

4. Listen carefully to dive briefings and directions and respect the advice of those supervising my diving activities.

I think this is universal. The phrasing of this assumes a novice diver, with a 'dive supervisor', but it can be interpreted wider than this. Even when I am the dive supervisor, running courses from a dive boat, I still listen to..and respect.. the advice of my Filipino boat captain. I talk with, and respect the advice of other instructors working in the area at the time... especially in regards to dive site conditions etc.

Recognize that additional training is recommended for participation in specialty diving activities, in other geographic areas and after periods of inactivity that exceed six months.

Again, I see this as universal. It doesn't have to mean 'formal courses'... just training. I educate myself before I do anything new. Sometimes that means taking a course, sometimes it means diving with a mentor. Sometimes it means in-depth research and practice in safe circumstances before attempting a particular dive.

Having 'work-up' dives, or other form of 'check-up/review' is worthwhile, regardless of diving level. It really applies to the 'outer limits' of a divers capabilities... the stuff that is not ingrained... the stuff that gets 'rusty'. The newer the skill, and the less it has been used, the quicker it will drop from a divers' 'tool kit'. For most, that will mean mask clearing, buoyancy and air-sharing etc. For others it might be line-laying in a cave, shut-down procedures or emergency drills on a CCR.

 

[DevonDiver]

5. Adhere to the buddy system throughout every dive.

PADI teaches according to the buddy system - so this advice directly applies to all divers who hold their qualifications. I think that a buddy, or team, system should apply to most divers. Solo diving is a very specialist diving activity and demands a very specific skill-set. I think that many novice-intermediate divers underestimate the requirements needed to mitigate all reasonable risks when you are solo.

Too many solo divers are prepared to "accept risks", rather than educate/train/equip themselves to mitigate risks. There's no common-sense to that mindset. It's a conscious decision to be less safe than you otherwise could be.

I didn't undertake solo dives until I had gained some experience as a technical diver. In the UK, at that time, technical diving was seen as a suitable pre-requisite for solo dives. I agree.. and with hindsight from having done that training, I am glad I never solo dived before then.

Plan dives – including communications, procedures for reuniting in case of separation and emergency procedures – with my buddy.

Plan dives and contingencies... yes.. universal, at all levels, to all divers.

...with a buddy... yes, if you are diving with one.

Funnily enough... this is one recommendation that I see customers disregarding most often. Dive planning, communication and contingency procedures are woefully lacking in most recreational dives.

I can only assume two reasons for this; over-confidence/complacency and pure laziness.

I never got into the water without a clear plan and understanding of what I would be doing. I've never blindly followed a dive guide. I've never abdicated responsibility for my own safety. Not once.

6. Be proficient in dive table usage.

...or dive computer, or PC deco software... Either way...at any level of diving, the diver needs proficiency in calculating a dive profile that mitigates the risk of DCS.

I see an awful lot of divers who 'jump in' and make it up as they go along. It's "ok" because they have a dive computer on their wrist. It's "ok" because they have a dive guide to look after them.

Make all dives no decompression dives and allow a margin of safety.

This is applicable for the people who it was written for... PADI recreational divers. IMHO, it reiterates an earlier statement not to 'conduct technical diving unless trained'. To me, deco diving is technical diving and should be approached as such.

Technical training gives the necessary knowledge and procedural foundations, allowing the diver to conduct their activities appropriately. It gives a range of options. Anything less is 'best guess' improvisation based on a limited range of options and knowledge...typically just following a dive computer that isn't actual understood.

Have a means to monitor depth and time underwater.

Universal.

Limit maximum depth to my level of training and experience.

The 'strictness' of this statement is always going to vary with the relative experience of the diver. It's also much abused.

A technical trimix diver extending their limits through progressively deeper dive can be considered to be diving within the limits of their training and experience. The 'appropriateness' of the dive is determined by the approach to that dive and it's relation to previous dives.

At recreational levels, there are much bigger relative 'jumps' in depth experience. The difference in skill requirement needed between a 20m and 40m dive is much more marked than that between a 60m and 80m...or 100m dive.

Ascend at a rate of not more than 18 metres/60 feet per minute. Be a SAFE diver – Slowly Ascend From Every dive. Make a safety stop as an added precaution, usually at 5 metres/15 feet for three minutes or longer.

Again, this is worded specifically for the divers whom it applies to... PADI recreational divers.

When seen as a general principle, it is much more universal.

7. Maintain proper buoyancy. Adjust weighting at the surface for neutral buoyancy with no air in my buoyancy control device. Maintain neutral buoyancy while underwater. Be buoyant for surface swimming and resting. Have weights clear for easy removal, and establish buoyancy when in distress while diving.

Again...written for the a specific user group. Again...as a general principle it is universally applicable. This 'could' include having a 'balanced rig'. It 'could' include having redundant buoyancy if you are a very negatively weighted technical diver. It recognises that buoyancy control is a critical factor in safe scuba diving. It also recognises that high proportion of 'avoidable' diving fatalities that occur because a stricken diver manages to reach the surface but subsequently sink back down.

8. Breathe properly for diving. Never breath-hold or skip-breathe when breathing compressed air, and avoid excessive hyperventilation when breath-hold diving.

Badly written, but its common sense. I understand the logic behind 'airway control' as used by some photographers etc, but I also understand how critical 'muscle memory' is when dealing with emergencies. For me, it's just not worth it. I don't hold my breath...and I still get good photos.

I've been in a few situations where I could have died if I held my breath without thinking. I'm glad that I followed those recommendations, not made excuses or thought myself 'above that advice', because my 'formed' instincts have saved my life.

Avoid overexertion while in and underwater and dive within my limitations.

Pretty universal, when you think about it. &I see this as 'respect my comfort zone'. I don't think I am beyond panicking. I think everyone has a psychological threshold, beyond which they can't deal with stress.

Hyper-ventilating and exhaustion are potential dangers for any diver. It has physiological and psychological implications for diver safety. On a more technical level, the issue of overexertion has implications with CO2 retention, narcosis and O2 tox.

It's universally applicable, but for different reasons at different levels.

9. Use a boat, float or other surface support station, whenever feasible.

I don't agree with this one.  The 'list' has covered the issue of proper dive planning... and this is a dive planning issue.

10. Know and obey local dive laws and regulations, including fish and game and dive flag laws

Yep... universal.

 

[Thalassamania]

7. ... Adjust weighting at the surface for neutral buoyancy with no air in my buoyancy control device. ...

We can debate some of the others and cut them mighty fine, but this is just dead ass wrong, regardless of agency, regardless of diver level.

 

[DevonDiver]

We can debate some of the others and cut them mighty fine, but this is just dead ass wrong, regardless of agency, regardless of diver level.

Agreed. I'm befuddled why they would state a specific procedure, rather than a general concept.

 

[TSandM]

What's so wrong about that recommendation? Add "with an empty tank", and it's a correct procedure.

Andy, your careful analysis communicates what I meant much better than I did; the INTENT of the rules is almost without exception a good diving practice. The specifics are written for the novice PADI diver.

 

[Thalassamania]

Lynne, you are correct and that's a four or five pound addition, no problem for someone with my size lungs, but I suspect you'd have trouble swinging that sort of shift on you lung volume alone.

 

[DevonDiver]

What's so wrong about that recommendation? Add "with an empty tank", and it's a correct procedure.

Well, I don't see it as the job for 'Safe Diving Practices' to emphasis a single technique option (even if it were described properly).

It's a correct procedure, not the correct procedure.

 

[Thalassamania]

No it is a clearly incorrect procedure, can you think of anyone else who makes the same recommendation? When you come up to the PADI required safety stop you'll be four to five lbs. light.

 

[DevonDiver]

It's relevant to PADI divers... who are taught to check weights using a pre-dive check. That description is an abbreviated reference to the technique they are taught. It could be more clear, but the reference doesn't describe the full technique or how to conduct it.

As mentioned several times in the thread - the debate is about safe diving practices that apply to you (your training). It's not about criticising the practices, standards and recommendations that don't apply to you...

Thal... how about sharing some insights from the scientific diving program?

 

[Hawkwood]

No it is a clearly incorrect procedure, can you think of anyone else who makes the same recommendation? When you come up to the PADI required safety stop you'll be four to five lbs. light.

Thal,

As part of the weight check as taught in OW as well as other programs, the students are taught to add 4lbs if the weight check was done with a full tank.

Bill