Every year, at the start of the diving season (April-May), there is a peak in the number of diving accidents, particularly among experienced divers and on deep dives. Through Subaqua, the French diving federation reminds you of its safety tips and recommendations.
Even with a good technical level, resuming at the start of the season doesn't always go hand in hand with current fitness levels. Don't forget your annual medical check-up. It takes a few readaptation dives to re-establish effective behavioral reflexes. So don't dive if you don't feel like it!
- If you're an experienced diver, you need to be in good physical shape, check your equipment before diving again, and adapt your diving to the environmental conditions of the area. We can't stress this enough: gradually re-adapt to depth. Know your limits and don't forget to stay hydrated. Dehydration is one of the factors contributing to accidents.
- You're supervising a beginner: keep a close eye on him at shallow depths and teach him how to manage his breathing and stabilization.
- You're a beginner: listen carefully to your instructor's advice. Reread the abridged Level 1.
THE COMBINATION OF SEVERAL RISK FACTORS
IS CONDUCIVE TO ACCIDENTS
With four areas of risk: human, material, technical and environmental. We're in an environment with special constraints. Procedural errors are not at all prevalent at present, reflecting the quality of teaching at the French Diving School. Around 80% of dives are carried out within a structure, and are therefore fairly well organized. With the resumption of diving and the arrival of the summer season, it's time to take into account your individual, behavioral and environmental risk factors. To sum up, an undeserved accident happens when you respect your computer and the procedure, but human beings are not considered to be mathematical models. All decompression specialists rightly remind us of this.
- For a given individual: Excess weight - Physical and mental inactivity - Older age - Poor lifestyle - Loss of conditioning - Medical anomaly.
- For a given environment and a given procedure: Depth/Duration - Fatigue before the dive - Effort and cold during the dive - Effort after the dive - Procedure: ascent speed, more than 2 dives/day, yoyo...
A FEW FIGURES
On average, we have 320 diving accidents per year resulting in hospitalization. This figure has remained fairly stable over 15 years. There are 15 to 20 deaths per year, some of them apnea-related. For around 3 million organized dives in a market of 400,000 to 500,000 divers. The risk of serious accident is 1 per 10,000 dives, more if you dive in remote areas. The majority of accidents occur on the Mediterranean coast, mainly in summer, with a peak during the long pre-season weekends. The incidence of accidents increases with depth and age.
LEARN TO MANAGE YOUR CONSUMPTION
Air failure is one of the main causes of accidents, paradoxically because it should never happen. It is the cause of stage failure, rapid ascent and problems on the surface. What we're talking about here is poor assessment of the personal air supply, and poor management in relation to the dive profile and diving conditions. Conditions that can completely change the way you plan your trip. Listen carefully to your divemaster's instructions. We learn and teach how to react to air failure. It's more difficult to learn how to properly manage your available air, because so many factors come into play. "
Article dated April 11, 2023 FFESSM
