Ask experienced divers how a dive went wrong, and the story rarely starts underwater. It starts on the boat, at the shore entry or the night before: a skipped safety check, a rushed plan, a diver who felt off but went anyway. The good news is that the habits that prevent most problems are simple, and they take only minutes.

Here are five safety habits worth building into every dive.

1. Be honest about your fitness to dive

Diving puts real demands on your heart, lungs and stamina. Before every trip, ask yourself honestly: Am I rested? Am I well? Have I had alcohol recently? Am I taking any new medication? A cold, a late night, or even a heavy meal can all change how your body handles a dive.

If you have a chronic condition or something has changed in your health, talk with a physician familiar with dive medicine before you go. Calling a dive is never a failure. It's judgment.

2. Plan the dive, then dive the plan

A good plan answers a few questions before anyone gears up: What's the maximum depth? How long will we stay? What's our turn-around point for air? How will we enter and exit? What will we do if we get separated?

Agree on the plan with your buddy and your dive leader, and stick to it. Many incidents begin when divers drift deeper or stay longer than they intended, chasing one more look at a reef or wreck.

3. Never skip the buddy check

The pre-dive buddy check exists because small problems are easy to miss on yourself but are easy to catch on someone else. Walk through each other's gear every time: buoyancy control device (BCD), weights and releases, air on and pressure checked, regulators breathing normally, and alternate air source located and accessible.

The pre-dive buddy check takes about a minute. It is one of the most effective accident-prevention tools a recreational diver has.

4. Know your gear and keep it maintained

Equipment failures are less common than human errors, but they do happen, and they're far more dangerous when you don't know your own kit. Service regulators and BCDs on the schedule the manufacturer recommends. Rinse and dry gear after every trip. If you rent, take a few minutes to learn where every release, dump valve, and gauge sits before you enter the water.

5. Ascend slowly and respect your limits

The end of the dive deserves as much attention as the start. Ascend slowly and under control, never hold your breath, and make a safety stop as your training recommends. After diving, follow established guidance on surface intervals and on waiting before you fly.

When something feels wrong after a dive, such as unusual fatigue, joint pain, numbness or trouble breathing, don't wait it out. Seek medical help promptly and say that you have been diving.

Make safety a habit, not a checklist

None of these habits is complicated. What makes them work is doing them every time, on easy dives as well as hard ones.

For divers who want to go deeper, Dan Orr has spent more than 60 years in diving. He is the retired President of Divers Alert Network (DAN) and Diving Safety Officer Emeritus for the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. His books Scuba Diving Safety and 101 Tips for Recreational Scuba Divers are available from Best Publishing Company, with reseller discounts for dive shops and instructors.

Explore Dan Orr's Safety books → https://www.bestpub.com/books-by-dan-orr