Survey Results: Close Calls While Scuba Diving

Now, the big question: are we sharing and discussing these incidents?

With whom did you share your close call in scuba diving experience(s)?

Only 4.9% of scuba divers said they had not shared their close call experience. That’s a good sign. When setting up this survey, we thought divers were keeping these incidents to themselves.

For those who discussed their close call adventure(s), they did it with:

• other divers: 88.9%
• their dive instructors: 28.4%
• their student divers: 19.1%
• non-divers: 16.1%

Respondents could select more than one answer, which explains why the total is above 100%. Clearly, we can share a close call experience with more than one group of people.

Vice versa, 87.0% of survey respondents said that other divers had shared close call experiences with them and 71.6% that at least one of their dive instructors had done so.

If you’ve shared your close call experience(s) with others, did you feel pushback or shame by people with whom you shared it?

The short answer is ‘no’ but there’s a bit more to it than that!

On average, 79.1% of scuba divers who shared their close call experience(s) with others did not feel pushback or shame by people with whom they shared it.

On the other hand, 15.2% of tech divers and 8.3% of non-tech divers experienced pushback and shame. That number should really be 0% if we want to have an open dialogue on scuba diving safety.

It’s concerning that tech divers experienced twice as much shame and pushback since tech diving requires an even greater attention to details for preventing dangerous mistakes.

In which situation did you experience close call(s) as a dive professional?

Dive professionals (instructor trainers, instructors & divemasters) could select more than one situation.

• 81.2% while diving for recreational purposes (non-training dives)
• 24.7% while providing training
• 21.2% while receiving training
• 21.2% while guiding other divers (e.g., tour guide)

Almost one out of four dive professionals experienced a close call while teaching. Let that sink in!

Meanwhile, 13.3% of scuba divers (non dive professionals) experienced at least one close call while receiving training.

We shouldn’t assume that we are doing a good job at safety simply because of a low rate of “accident” in the dive industry. Based on the results from this survey, there are plenty of “near-miss incidents.” And I suggest we work together on reducing that percentage to the low one-digit.

In which type of incident did you experience close call(s) while scuba diving?

Survey participants could select more than one type of incident.

• 28.4%: surfacing at the end of a dive with less gas than the planned minimum
• 26.5%: major equipment problem
• 25.9%: panic or near-panic (check our survey on panic & near-panic while scuba diving)
• 24.1%: unplanned separation which ended in a solo ascent
• 21.6%: uncontrolled buoyant ascent
• 21.0%: getting lost underwater
• 19.8%: hypercapnia (excessive CO2 in the bloodstream caused by inadequate respiration)
• 19.1%: physically out of gas on a dive
• 18.5%: entangled or entrapped during a dive
• 13.6%: mild/severe DCS (decompression sickness)
• 13.0%: major narcosis (N2 or CO2)
• 3.1%: switching to the wrong gas mix
• 2.5%: personal health issue
• 2.5%: oxygen toxicity/hyperoxia
• 2.5%: hypoxia (low oxygen levels in the blood)

We could discuss each one of these types of incident, but there is one that grabs my attention. About one diver out of four has experienced an unplanned separation that ended up in a solo ascent. So much for relying on the buddy system! There is certainly value in being self-reliant.

What factors do you think contributed to the close call(s) you have experienced?

• 29.2%: error in judgment due to lack of experience
• 28.0%: problems involving the use of equipment
• 27.3%: inexperience in that environment
• 26.1%: unfavorable weather or dive conditions (e.g., current)
• 22.4%: complacency
• 21.7%: pushing your limits and/or misplaced motivation (goal-oriented diving)
• 21.1%: poor and/or failure to communicate
• 19.9%: overconfidence
• 19.9%: poor decision to continue to dive
• 17.4%: unfamiliar conditions/environment
• 16.2%: haste
• 11.2%: skipping steps in pre-dive checks
• 8.1%: inadequate choice of equipment for the dive
• 8.1%: peer pressure