Most of the time, it is the diver’s skills, knowledge and attitude that prevents those risks from being materialised and an injury or fatality from happening. However, when errors happen, the latent or hidden lethality within the system is exposed. Sometimes, there is some luck involved in preventing a fatality or serious injury. However, luck should never be considered part of the plan for anything other than those genuine expeditions that are really pushing the boundaries.

It is this balance of risks that is often hard to understand when something goes wrong and a diver is killed, injured or has a really “scary” moment. We often forget that there are ever-present, low probability, high consequence risks whenever we go diving. This article will explain some of the challenges divers face when asked to take “personal responsibility” when they go diving and why. As with many things involving human factors and decision-making, the simplistic approach does not always help divers make the best choices.

In 1977, two Boeing 747s were on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport, Tenerife. The plane from KLM was lined up, ready to take off, while the plane from Pan-Am was taxiing down the runway towards the first, to exit, turn around and await the former’s departure. However, there was thick fog, and neither crew could see each other.

The simple answer is—it depends! This article will present a series of arguments so the reader (and diver) can make that decision, as ultimately, it is the diver who is choosing to get in the water and expose themselves to the risks therein. The article will cover some essential definitions and then outline where responsibility could or should lie when it comes to undertaking a “safe” or “unsafe” activity. Note: the article will use figures from the United Kingdom, as these were the easiest for the author to source.

There is a significant body of evidence which shows that divers involved in diving incidents often make poor decisions—sounds obvious, doesn’t it? So if it is so obvious, why do we continue to make them? Simple decisions such as continuing a dive when they should have ended it, choosing the ‘wrong’ gas for narcosis/density/decompression reasons, wearing the wrong thermal protection for the conditions, diving with the ‘wrong’ buddies, the list goes on. This article will cover how we make decisions, and more importantly, why we make poor decisions and the pitfalls we encounter when doing so.

We need to be able to raise the awareness and knowledge of those involved in the sport so that they can truly take responsibility for their own actions. Sticking a note in the manual saying that diving is dangerous or on the back of a CCR which says, “This unit can kill you if improperly used”, are not enough. That’s like saying “Drive safely to work” to your partner as they set off in the morning. People don’t get out of bed in the morning and decide, “This seems like a good day to make a monumental, obvious mistake whilst 70m below the surface!”

 

Some of the readers may remember an article I wrote on this subject a couple of years ago, but this one will go into much more depth and give examples of the issues faced in both the scuba diving community and other environments, which have more established safety management system programmes and cultures.

The reason why the presentations and consensus statement arrived at this position was because there is considerable evidence from aviation, medicine and other fields and disciplines that shows the proper use of checklists reduces the probability of incidents occurring.

Simple examples of how checklists have improved safety include making sure the limb for amputation has been actively and correctly identified, positive confirmation of the dose and identity of the drugs being administered or making sure the correct engine is being shutdown in the event of an aircraft engine fire.

But just culture is only one part of a safety culture, a term which is being promoted by a number of organisations and individuals as something that needs to be developed by individual divers to improve their safety. The funny thing is that a culture is something that is at the core of a community or group; it is ‘the way things are done around here’. (Williams et al, 1994).