Scuba Diving can be a dangerous sport if you do not take a ‘be safe always’ approach when entering the water. There are some steps every diver should follow to ensure he has a safe dive.

Scuba Diving Safety Rules:

Get proper training

Being comfortable underwater will go a long way towards having a safe dive. Proper training is one key to being comfortable underwater. The beginning of proper training is to get your open water certification. If you go diving in caves, caverns, wrecks, etc., you should also have the proper training for this type of dive.

Never dive alone

Always dive with a buddy no matter where you are. This is key. When you do dive with a buddy, keep an eye on him/her to make sure everything is OK (and hopefully they are doing the same). If something happens, that buddy can be the difference between life and death. Never violate this rule. Also do a pre-dive equipment check with your buddy.

Be in good physical shape

You don’t have to be a triathlete but you should be able to swim and take the stress of diving. A physical exam is a good idea before diving.

Don’t hold your breath

Remember to always breathe slowly and in a relaxed manner and to exhale fully. Don’t take short, shallow breathes and never hold your breath.
Holding your breath underwater can lead to lung injuries and worse, in the extreme case.

Ascend slowly and with control

As you ascend you are ridding your body of nitrogen in your tissues and bloodstream. If you ascend too quickly, you risk decompression sickness. Always do a safety stop at 15 feet for at least 3 minutes after deeper dives. After your safety stop, do not propel yourself to the surface either. Ascend that last 15 feet very slowly also.

Check your equipment

Checking equipment is especially important if you are renting. If you own your regulator and haven’t dove in a while, it should also be serviced to make sure it is working properly. Do a check of the regulator hoses also.

Relax

Being relaxed and comfortable underwater is key to a successful dive. If something happens, stop, breathe, think and act. Do not panic and rush to the surface. But observing this safety rule could be key to a safe dive.

Plan your dive and dive your plan

You will hear this in your training (or you should) and you should follow this advice. Prior to going under, you and your buddy should know the max depth you will go, the amount of bottom time you’ll have and how much air you will start to ascend with. Check your air supply often. You should also agree on the hand signals you will use to communicate underwater.

This is just the beginning of scuba diving safety rules. However, if you follow the above list you increase your chances of a safe dive.

“One aspect of scuba diving safety is the training of your basic diving skills: mask clearing, regulator recovery, out-of-air drills and buoyancy control. There are more skills that are considered to be basic diving skills; buddy checks and compass navigation to name a few, but let’s look at these four for the moment.

Most holiday-divers, and even some divers who dive almost every week, hardly practice the basic diving skills. This is downright naive. If you study martial arts, how often do you practice a certain kick? One, two, or hundreds of times? When you play tennis, how often do you repeat your backhand drills, before you are satisfied with the results? Five times, ten times, or hundreds of times? Every year several divers die because they have a regulator or mask problem, and they do not have the necessary routine to solve the problem, and then panic. They thought that practicing a couple of times would be enough, and they where proven wrong. Do not end like one of these statistics. It does not take much time to practice the basic drills, and it will build your skill and confidence. A good way to practice your basic diving skills is to take a couple of minutes during every dive, after the safety stop, to work on improving your skills. Mask clearing, mask removal and replacement, regulator recoveries (both ways) and an out-of air drill, all while remaining neutrally buoyant, to practice your buoyancy control at the same time.”