Bridge suicide

A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently to die by suicide, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. A fall from the height of a tall bridge into water may be fatal, although people have survived jumps from high bridges such as the Golden Gate Bridge. Medical examiners at the Golden Gate Bridge state that jumpers suffer a gruesome death as their bodies hit the water at 80 mph (130 km/h), with severe organ damage (multiple ruptured organs) and broken necks, pelvises, etc.

To reach such locations, those with the intention to die by suicide must often walk long distances to reach the point where they finally decide to jump. For example, some individuals have traveled over the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by car in order to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Suicide prevention advocates believe that suicide by bridge is more likely to be impulsive than other means, and that barriers can have a significant effect on reducing the incidence of suicides by bridge. One study showed that installing barriers on the Duke Ellington Bridge in Washington, D.C.—which has a high incidence of suicide—did not cause an increase of suicides at the nearby Taft Bridge. A similar result was seen when barriers were erected on the popular suicide bridge: the Clifton Suspension Bridge, in the United Kingdom. Families affected and groups that help the mentally ill have lobbied governments to erect similar barriers. One such barrier is the Luminous Veil on the Prince Edward Viaduct in Toronto, Canada, once considered North America's second deadliest bridge, with over 400 jumps on record.

Special telephones with connections to crisis hotlines are sometimes installed on bridges.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Mooney Mooney Bridge on the Central Coast (New South Wales), and the Westgate Bridge in Melbourne, Australia and the Story Bridge in Brisbane are considered suicide bridges. Sydney Harbour Bridge has a suicide prevention barrier. In February 2009, following the murder of a four-year-old girl who was thrown off the bridge by her father, the first stage of a temporary suicide barrier was erected on Westgate Bridge, constructed of concrete crash barriers topped with a welded mesh fence. The permanent barrier has now been completed throughout the span of the bridge. The barriers are costed at $20 million and have been reported to have reduced suicide rates on the Westgate by 85%.

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