What is a diving accident?
For the purposes of this guideline, a “diving accident” is defined as an event that is either potentially life-threatening or hazardous to health as a result of a reduction in ambient pressure while diving or in other hyperbaric atmospheres with and without diving equipment. Drowning is the most common cause of scuba diving deaths. Divers drown due to running out of air, panic, lack of training, unrelated health problems that cause unconsciousness and equipment failure. As you know humans are built to breathe only air. Inhaling water can become deadly very quick.Safety and Risks A common misconception is that freediving is inherently more dangerous than scuba diving. However, the reality is quite different. Freediving, by its very nature, involves fewer risks as it requires minimal equipment and allows divers to surface anytime they feel the need to breathe.Never hold your breath. This is undoubtedly by far the most crucial of all safety rules for diving because failure to adhere could result in fatality. If you hold your breath underwater at the depths at which scuba divers reach then the fluctuating pressure of air in your lungs can rupture the lung walls.Scuba diving typically involves moderate intensity physical activity, but situations can occur that require high-intensity activity. In addition, scuba diving challenges the cardiovascular system in a variety of ways that may be life-threatening for individuals with heart disease or a low capacity for exercise.
What is the 120 rule in diving?
Subtract the depth you’re diving (in feet) from 120. The resulting number is the maximum amount of minutes you should spend at that depth. The need to do decompression stops increases with depth. A diver at 6 metres (20 ft) may be able to dive for many hours without needing to do decompression stops. At depths greater than 40 metres (131 ft), a diver may have only a few minutes at the deepest part of the dive before decompression stops are needed.