Breaking the Rules, a Diver Gets in Over His Head

Remar Sutton
The Washington Post

From an article describing a near-disaster during a night scuba dive, after the author had not checked his gear, as he should have:

    ...I was reminded that growing comfortable breaking the rules because nothing had ever gone wrong doesn't make it safe to break the rules. The opposite is true. As we break rules and get away with it, we tend to break more rules, a nice formula for catastrophe. The analogies for health and fitness are nearly too obvious for me to point out, but I want to mention a few less obvious ones. To begin with, my near-accident was entirely preventable. And even though I brought it on myself, the people who love me also would have suffered if I had been injured or killed. Their lives would have been turned upside down by my mistake. That bitter thought flashed through my mind at the worst instant during the dive.
– 6-17-02

 This document appears in the eLCOSH website with the permission of the author and/or copyright holder and may not be reproduced without their consent. eLCOSH is an information clearinghouse. eLCOSH and its sponsors are not responsible for the accuracy of information provided on this web site, nor for its use or misuse.
 eLCOSH | CDC | NIOSH | Site Map | Search | Links | Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy



Other Job Site Trade Hazard Site Map Search Spanish Items Help Links Contact eLCOSH Non-English Materials Training Materials NIOSH Home CDC Home eLCOSH Home