Analysis of Causes of Fatal Accidents in Recreational Diving Based on the Reason Model and the Delphi Method

Abstract

The Delphi method was used to investigate the causes of fatal accidents in recreational diving by three rounds of questionnaire surveys on six Chinese experts in recreational diving based on the four factors - unsafe acts that cause accident, preconditions for unsafe acts, unsafe supervision and organizational influences - in the REASON model in psychology. A retroactive analysis was carried out to investigate the causes of accidents, and corresponding suggestions were proposed. The research found that unsafe acts, including technical fault and intentional violation, are the direct causes of accidents. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a qualification system for recreational diving in China. In terms of preconditions for unsafe acts, though the objective factors are uncontrollable, news media and print media can be united to create a good environment to improve people’s safety awareness. Unsafe supervision refers to inadequate supervision, failure in early-warning of known hazards and poor review of diving licenses by clubs; to address these problems, clubs should improve personnel management and the club registration association should take full charge in coordination and control. Organizational influences in recreational diving mainly refer to the absence of rules and regulations, failure of the top-level institutions in China to perform their duties, and the lack of management, so it is advisable that the top-level institutions of the recreational diving industry perform their duties and take better management measures to improve the safety management system and safety regulations for recreational diving as soon as possible.