AD 2018 Q1

“AS THE DAN ANNUAL DIVING REPORT
ENTERS ITS FOURTH DECADE, IT WILL CONTINUE
TO BE A DEFINING FACTOR IN NEW DIVE SAFETY
AND TRAINING INITIATIVES AND THE BEST
RESOURCE AVAILABLE FOR UNDERSTANDING
THE RISKS THAT DIVERS ACTUALLY FACE.”
leads to the conclusion that inadequate buoyancy
control is a systemic problem in the diving community.
Our research has also revealed that inadequate
buoyancy is frequently caused by improper weighting,
and both factors were present in many incidents.
To address the issue of poor buoyancy control,
we created a training module focused specifically on
instilling fundamental skills and conveying the science
behind those skills to new divers. The principles
behind buoyancy control, proper weighting and
appropriate buoyancy management are central to
DAN’s Prepared Diver course.
Through data analysis and educational initiatives
such as this, we have the ability to make real
improvements in diver safety. The results are
evidenced in the latest Annual Diving Report, which
details the lowest number of U.S. and Canadian
recreational dive fatalities in more than 20 years.
The incidents and issues we identify through this
work have changed a great deal in the three decades
since the creation of DAN’s first Annual Diving Report.
The first reports were important because they defined
for the community the types of injuries that divers
could sustain. The burgeoning sport was seeing a record
number of both divers and recorded injuries. Diver
training had not yet evolved to address many of the
causes of these injuries, and knowledge of the injuries
and proper first aid for them was not yet widespread.
The reports detailed many accounts of divers who
had been diving without formal training, buoyancy
compensator devices (BCDs) or other pieces of modern
gear that divers today consider indispensable.
The sport progressed over the years with the advent
of dive computers, nitrox and BCDs, and the Annual
Diving Report followed suit. Each new evolution in the
dive community was brought into the fold of DAN’s
incident, injury and fatality databases, and the report
has evolved to reflect the changing world of diving.
With the growth of rebreather and breath-hold diving,
the report has expanded to track injuries sustained
during these types of dives. And as these disciplines
have increased in popularity, we have seen more
apnea- and rebreather-related injuries and fatalities in
our data. Worldwide injury and fatality data are also
included in the report, and we are expanding both our
ability to collect international data and our analysis of
international diving injury trends.
As the DAN Annual Diving Report enters its fourth
decade, it will continue to be a defining factor in new
dive safety and training initiatives and the best resource
available for understanding the risks that divers actually
face. As we move forward, we will continue to provide
the industry’s best look at the hazards of diving, and
recent innovations in data-collection techniques and
technology will allow us to delve in greater detail
into the risks posed by age, type of training and type
of diving. Read this year’s report (DAN.org/medical/
report), and look back with us on how far we have come
and how we can work with you to improve your safety
and the safety of divers everywhere. AD
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