Backup Lights, Air Management Make Cave Diving Safer

Cave diving is considered one of the most dangerous forms of scuba diving, though devotees would disagree. They say the level of expertise, training and experience required for cave diving draws only the most skilled people to the sport.

Cave divers follow strict guidelines that are considered the five commandments for safe passage.

1. Cave divers undergo training in segments that become progressively more complex. Each segment is followed by a dive to practice what was taught in the classroom. These dives are supposed to build on the diver's real world experience to become familiar with cave diving and understand the problems that can arise.
2. Cave divers practice air management. They use a third of their air to travel into the cave and a third to leave the cave. A third is held in reserve for emergencies.
3. The dive leader maintains a continuous guide line that is secured at a fixed point outside the cave entrance.
4. No cave diver exceeds the depth of the dive plan or the maximum operating depth, or MOD, of the gas mixture used