"Is technology making diving safer?"

[George Thomson]

I have been looking at the stats in the BSAC incident reports and have found that there has been a gradual rise in reported incidents over the last 10 years or so. This may be due to the ever increasing amount of divers participating in the sport but on reading some of the individual reports, delayed smb's and computers which are supposed to be make diving safer were directly or indirectly involved in some of the incidents. Also drysuits and loss of buoyancy control were a feature. Therefore are all these advances in diver comfort and safety really making diving safer?

[Mark Scott-Simons]

I have been looking at the stats in the BSAC incident reports and have found that there has been a gradual rise in reported incidents over the last 10 years or so. This may be due to the ever increasing amount of divers participating in the sport

Its also likely that more reports are being made as divers are more aware of the process plus other agencies are contributing more data.

but on reading some of the individual reports, delayed smb's and computers which are supposed to be make diving safer were directly or indirectly involved in some of the incidents. Also drysuits and loss of buoyancy control were a feature. Therefore are all these advances in diver comfort and safety really making diving safer?

What you refer to can also be attributed to the lower standards and fast track training systems that have become more prevelant over the last 10 years.

Scotty

[Dominic Humphries]

delayed smb's and computers which are supposed to be make diving safer were directly or indirectly involved in some of the incidents. Also drysuits and loss of buoyancy control were a feature. Therefore are all these advances in diver comfort and safety really making diving safer?

Are you suggesting we should go back to using wetsuits and no SMB?

Loss of buoyancy control is often down to QR weight belts falling off, tho, and I'd be willing to back any campaign that got rid of THEM :o)

[Gordon Archer]

Loss of buoyancy control is often down to QR weight belts falling off, tho, and I'd be willing to back any campaign that got rid of THEM :o)

Whats a QR weight belt?

[petem]

Whats a QR weight belt?

Quick Release

[Steve Walker]

:=Loss of buoyancy control is often down to QR weight belts falling off, tho, and I'd be willing to back any campaign that got rid of THEM :o)

This is my only reason for not getting rid of the crotch strap from my wing.

Whats a QR weight belt?
QR = Quick Release

Another view could be that reliance on technology such as dive computers is replacing correct dive planning and leading to an increase in incidents. If I'm going to go deeper than 25 metres I like to have a plan written down in case of computer FUBARs, I certainly wouldn't rely just on the computer for info on stops/deco.

Also, as more people take up diving there is likely to be a shift in the mean competence levels eg holiday divers, and attempts to transfer this experience to UK waters will likely result in greater number of "incidents", and it's no coincidence that there tends to be a peak in incidents coinciding with the beginning of "the season", ie folk not "dived in".

You can invent and implement whatever technology is current, but at the end of the day you can't control for human nature, which I believe plays a major part in the increasing number of "incidents".

Same goes for driving and advances in car safety, still plenty of folk not regularly wearing seat belts or tailgating at high speed etc etc.

Regards
Steve