Avoid Cliff Diving Accidents

It is necessary to learn how to avoid cliff diving accidents before even attempting a dive. In fact, unless you are willing to follow through with a few of these safety precautions, you should not even consider attempting one. Sure cliff diving can be a lot of fun; but this extreme sport comes with extreme risk. Unfortunately, many people do  not understand this and they dive right in; thus encountering some type of horrifying accident.  If you truly want to have fun but also be safe, you need to learn how to avoid cliff diving accidents. With the right precautions, it is a sport that can provide endless amounts of fun.

1. Dive from legal popular cliff diving location. Some areas are known to be great cliff diving spots. These spots are popular because of they are both safe and provide a certain amount of thrill. Of course you should not solely relay on a spots popularity as a means for selection. Some popular spots are illegal. So, to avoid spots that are overly dangerous, only cliff dive from areas that you know to be legal and popular. This will greatly cut down on the chances of you incurring a cliff diving accident.
2. Dive in groups. You should never dive alone. Cliff diving alone is just inviting an accident to happen. Preferably you should dive in groups of three or more. This way if someone does suffer from an accident, there will be someone to go for help, while someone else can stay with the victim.
3. Swim the area before you dive. Many cliff diving accidents happen when a person lands on rocks or other debris. Often this debris is hidden by the cliff. So before you attempt the dive, first swim the area you plan to dive into. Search under the water for any hidden rocks or vegetation.
4. Do a pencil dive. Never dive head first. Most cliff diving accidents happen when people try crazy or exotic dives. To truly avoid them, practice doing a pencil dive. This is when you jump off the cliff, keeping your body in a straight vertical position. You hands will be at your side, and your legs will be together.
5. Minimum depth of water should be at least fifteen feet. Never dive in shallow areas. The water should be at least fifteen feet deep. This will provide maximum protection, and lessen your chances of hitting something on the bottom of the lake or ocean.