What do Safe Divers do that Unsafe Divers don't?
- Thread starter Kunk35
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Zieg
Contributor
You know, it also depends on what an individuals idea of what "safe" is. I don't carry a whistle or a signal mirror, and most times not even a smb. Based on some of the posts I've seen, that would make me "unsafe".
Then again, I had some friends who thought I was nuts because I didn't attach my speargun to myself....I might lose it.
An example, last week I took the boat out for a joy ride. I know the seas were rougher than I care to dive in, 4-6 foot. But I went for the fun. Took it slow and easy. My boat is built to easily handle these seas. My next door neighbor, when he found that I went offshore in those conditions, thought I was insane. But consider that this is a man who goes offshore fishing without an anchor, because "they get in the way".
Then again, I had some friends who thought I was nuts because I didn't attach my speargun to myself....I might lose it.
An example, last week I took the boat out for a joy ride. I know the seas were rougher than I care to dive in, 4-6 foot. But I went for the fun. Took it slow and easy. My boat is built to easily handle these seas. My next door neighbor, when he found that I went offshore in those conditions, thought I was insane. But consider that this is a man who goes offshore fishing without an anchor, because "they get in the way".
I think the biggest item that separates the two for me is an awareness that plays directly to gas management and dive planning.
Safe divers know their sac and use their instruments to confirm what they already know. Unsafe divers read their instruments because they're truly unaware of how much air/time/depth they've got.
Safe divers know their sac and use their instruments to confirm what they already know. Unsafe divers read their instruments because they're truly unaware of how much air/time/depth they've got.
In an apparent race to the bottom, the recreational diving industry has developed an excessive dependency on mandated rules that replace actually understanding the laws of physics and facts of physiology. Your best protection is to stay very very curious. A lot of the most important experience I have acquired resulted from thinking and discussing before and after dives. For the most part the dives themselves were all quite predictable.
Safe:
Level headed. Competent, observant, realistic, self reliant and dependable.
Will stop, breathe, think, then act. Will not panic.
Knows and understands that the consequences for mistakes or bad judgement underwater are grave.
Makes a plan which considers gas, depth, time, buddy contact, communication, conditions, and the environment.
Has the appropriate equipment for the planned dive.
Dives the plan.
Is familiar with own equipment and buddy's equipment.
Practices skills frequently.
Has excellent buoyancy control.
Has self respect and is respectful of others and of the environment.
Is willing to learn, to listen, and to improve.
Unsafe:
Exhibits some of the following:
Is poorly trained, poorly skilled, has something to prove, is trying to set records, is competitive, dishonest, unrealistic, unaware, unprepared, not self reliant, etc.
Level headed. Competent, observant, realistic, self reliant and dependable.
Will stop, breathe, think, then act. Will not panic.
Knows and understands that the consequences for mistakes or bad judgement underwater are grave.
Makes a plan which considers gas, depth, time, buddy contact, communication, conditions, and the environment.
Has the appropriate equipment for the planned dive.
Dives the plan.
Is familiar with own equipment and buddy's equipment.
Practices skills frequently.
Has excellent buoyancy control.
Has self respect and is respectful of others and of the environment.
Is willing to learn, to listen, and to improve.
Unsafe:
Exhibits some of the following:
Is poorly trained, poorly skilled, has something to prove, is trying to set records, is competitive, dishonest, unrealistic, unaware, unprepared, not self reliant, etc.
Bob DBF
Contributor
Just havin fun but I found your list alarming... I'm an unsafe diver
It's always the guy with the Double Hose.
Looks as if I have the same problems.
Bob
--------------------------------
Always use the right tool for the job. A hammer is the right tool for any job. Anything can be used as a hammer.
I may be old, but Im not dead yet.
flots am
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An "unsafe diver" is a lot like an empty fire extinguisher. Everything looks good until you have a fire.
My short answer is that a "safe diver" has the judgement to detect and avoid problems before they happen, "engineer" problems out of the dive, and has a plan for returning safely to the exit point, from any point during the dive, regardless of any reasonably anticipated problem with himself or his buddy.
This doesn't take Superman, and can be done by anybody who has taken OW & Diver Stress and Rescue, follows training and exercises good judgement.
flots.
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I agree with Mike in that staying close to the buddy so at all times you can assist each other is safe. Though I also agree that each diver should be self reliant as if diving solo. Then there is the discussion of solo diving itself. Somewhat related to this is buddy checks. A buddy check is just that--it checks out gearing up stuff which each buddy should have done correctly and checked over themselves first--not something one should rely on a buddy for. In almost 7 years of diving I have seen a "proper" detailed buddy check exactly once. Since PADI (and I'm sure all the rest) say this should be done every dive, one could say that according to the agencies 99.99% of divers that I have witnessed are unsafe (I know 2 buddies that dive together a lot tend to "streamline" this, but since I have no real current buddy, I have to be the one to even suggest a buddy check).
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As I think back on the divers I've met that I consider "unsafe" I think about the only thing they have in common is that they take their diving too casually. Whether it's out of ignorance, ego, or a generally too-trusting nature they have a tendency to put themselves into situations that everyone except themselves seems to know they're not really equipped to deal with. I don't think it has anything to do with training, or lack of training, or equipment choices, or even physical fitness ... it's more a deficiency of a self-preservation instinct that manifests itself according to their individual personality.
Unsafe divers generally assume everything's going to go just exactly right, and aren't prepared for when it doesn't ... or that they can handle an underwater emergency because they read about it in a book, but they've never really tested themselves to see if their self-image bears any resemblance to the reality of dealing with a real-life emergency. They can be braggarts ... or quiet, unassuming people who have somehow talked themselves into believing they're better than they really are. Or they can be people who have a deep-seated fear of what they're attempting, but are doing it anyway as a means to improve their self-image. They can be people who allow their buddies to talk them into doing something that they know, deep down, they shouldn't be doing ... but they don't want to disappoint someone else by saying no.
Unsafe divers are people who don't practice their basic safety skills after the class they learned them in and assume that if they should ever need them they'll remember it exactly like they did it in the pool or during their checkout dives ... however many years ago that might have been. Or they're people who take shortcuts, knowing better but justifying it by pointing out that you just don't see that many people dying on scuba gear. And they're people who it never occurs to that they're not just putting themselves in harm's way, but other people too.
Unsafe divers rarely realize they're unsafe. Some see everyone else as just too cautious. Others seem to think relying on someone else to keep you safe is just how diving is done. And some just throw caution to the wind, jump in without a thought for preparation and rely on luck, or karma, or whatever higher authority they think is watching out for them.
... and sometimes, when they really need it the most, that higher authority turns out to be looking the other way ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Unsafe divers generally assume everything's going to go just exactly right, and aren't prepared for when it doesn't ... or that they can handle an underwater emergency because they read about it in a book, but they've never really tested themselves to see if their self-image bears any resemblance to the reality of dealing with a real-life emergency. They can be braggarts ... or quiet, unassuming people who have somehow talked themselves into believing they're better than they really are. Or they can be people who have a deep-seated fear of what they're attempting, but are doing it anyway as a means to improve their self-image. They can be people who allow their buddies to talk them into doing something that they know, deep down, they shouldn't be doing ... but they don't want to disappoint someone else by saying no.
Unsafe divers are people who don't practice their basic safety skills after the class they learned them in and assume that if they should ever need them they'll remember it exactly like they did it in the pool or during their checkout dives ... however many years ago that might have been. Or they're people who take shortcuts, knowing better but justifying it by pointing out that you just don't see that many people dying on scuba gear. And they're people who it never occurs to that they're not just putting themselves in harm's way, but other people too.
Unsafe divers rarely realize they're unsafe. Some see everyone else as just too cautious. Others seem to think relying on someone else to keep you safe is just how diving is done. And some just throw caution to the wind, jump in without a thought for preparation and rely on luck, or karma, or whatever higher authority they think is watching out for them.
... and sometimes, when they really need it the most, that higher authority turns out to be looking the other way ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
SkimFisher
Contributor
They have nothing to prove.
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