Golden Gate Bridge hits milestone in 2013 with 46 suicides

[Baclava]

(Reuters) - San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge marked a milestone in 2013 as 46 people leaped to their deaths in what appears to be the deadliest year for suicides at the California landmark, a watchdog group said on Tuesday.

The Bridge Rail Foundation, which tracks fatalities at the 4,200-foot-long (1,280-meter) span, said the high number of suicides demonstrates the need for a safety net to be installed to make it more difficult for would-be jumpers to take their own lives there.

"I know it won't be built soon, and that's the most frustrating thing about this," said Dayna Whitmer, board member with the organization. "We hate to see any more 17-year-olds jump or 86-year-olds jump, it's just not right."

The road surface of the suspension bridge towers more than 220 feet above the entrance to the San Francisco Bay, and the span ranks as one of the world's most frequently chosen sites for public suicides. It is also one of the most lethal, with jumps from the bridge nearly always proving fatal.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-goldengate-suicides-20140225,0,5990322.story

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I thought they had nets?

[Blue_Tires]

1. I saw a profile on NPR a couple years back

Last edited Thu Feb 27, 2014, 12:13 PM - Edit history (1)

about the official SFPD counselor who gets called when someone is threatening to jump and he has to intervene and talk them out of it...

The sad part is when that story came out, iirc, Golden Gate suicides were the lowest they had been in awhile (maybe they meant year-to-date)...

The other fact I didn't know is that despite all the poetic romanticism of jumping off the Golden Gate, it is NOT a pleasant, painless way to go...Many jumpers hit rock instead of water so their bodies get mangled and dismembered (which is that much more traumatic for family members who have to identify remains), and sometimes death isn't instant, either....It's just gruesome for everyone involved and anyone unlucky enough to be a witness at that moment...

[Baclava]

3. I watched a documentary awhile back called The Bridge

it was about all that . pretty powerful stuff

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-bridge/

[Pretzel_Warrior]

2. How many were bankers?