WHEN ALCOHOL AND WATER DONT MIX - DIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

The impairing effects of alcohol on divers' abilities to perform shall ow-water entry dives were investigated under controlled conditions. Ea ch of 13 male recreational divers, 21 to 35 years old, performed three shallow-entry dives during each of seven diving sessions at various b lood alcohol concentrations (BACs). The mean group BACs of Diving Sess ions 1-7 were 0, 17, 40, 71, 100, 123 and 97 mg/dl, respectively. Divi ng performances were videotaped and rated on their relative risk of in jury due to contact with the pool bottom if the depth had actually bee n 3.5 feet. The data indicate progressive and significant impairment o f diving performance at BACs of 40 mg/dl (or 0.04 g/dl, or 0.04%) and higher. Corroborating evidence of alcohol impairment was obtained from administering Field Sobriety Tests following Sessions 1, 5, 6 and 7; almost all subjects failed the tests at the higher BAC sessions. An an alysis of the self-ratings of diving performances indicated that the d ivers were not aware of either their degraded performance or the incre ased risk of injury resulting from diving after drinking.