What should divers prioritize during a dive to maintain safety?

Prioritizing regular monitoring of dive parameters is essential for ensuring safety during a dive. Divers must keep an eye on various parameters such as depth, time, and no-decompression limits, as well as their current air supply and any ascent rates. By systematically tracking these variables, divers can make informed decisions and adapt their dive plans as necessary. This vigilance helps in avoiding potential hazards, such as exceeding safe depth limits or ignoring necessary decompression stops, thereby significantly reducing the risk of diving-related accidents or decompression sickness.

While managing air supply and reaching depth can be important, they do not supersede the need for ongoing awareness of all dive parameters throughout the dive. Ignoring dive tables is counterproductive, as these tables provide crucial information for safe diving practices and help divers to plan their ascents and accommodate for different levels of nitrogen absorption. Regularly monitoring dive parameters encompasses both air supply and adherence to dive tables, ensuring all safety measures are actively managed during the dive.