From the Trenches
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has seen a record-breaking level of ‘jumpers’ in 2013, with 46 people ending their life, according to a watchdog group. This is 1.5 times higher than a year before.
The Bridge Rail Foundation urged the authorities to install a safety net to prevent further escalation of the suicide rate at the 1,280-meter bridge, which towers more than 65 meters over the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
“I know it won’t be built soon, and that’s the most frustrating thing about this,” Dayna Whitmer, board member with the organization, told Reuters.
“We hate to see any more 17-year-olds jump or 86-year-olds jump, it’s just not right,” she added.
The authorities have been planning to set up a special safety net to catch people who jump. However, $66 million are needed to build the construction. Three years ago, a company was given $5 million to design the safety net.
The previous record of suicides is believed to have been 40 or 41 fatalities in one year, Whitmer said.
Currie also said that police officers or others stopped another 118 people from jumping to their deaths. To stop the people from ending their lives, there are bicycle patrols, plus two to four officers on the bridge’s sidewalks, according to California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Andrew Barclay, as cited by Reuters.
In 2012, the number of suicides stood at 33.
Debate Magazine
From the Trenches
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has seen a record-breaking level of ‘jumpers’ in 2013, with 46 people ending their life, according to a watchdog group. This is 1.5 times higher than a year before.
The Bridge Rail Foundation urged the authorities to install a safety net to prevent further escalation of the suicide rate at the 1,280-meter bridge, which towers more than 65 meters over the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
“I know it won’t be built soon, and that’s the most frustrating thing about this,” Dayna Whitmer, board member with the organization, told Reuters.
“We hate to see any more 17-year-olds jump or 86-year-olds jump, it’s just not right,” she added.
The authorities have been planning to set up a special safety net to catch people who jump. However, $66 million are needed to build the construction. Three years ago, a company was given $5 million to design the safety net.
The previous record of suicides is believed to have been 40 or 41 fatalities in one year, Whitmer said.
Currie also said that police officers or others stopped another 118 people from jumping to their deaths. To stop the people from ending their lives, there are bicycle patrols, plus two to four officers on the bridge’s sidewalks, according to California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Andrew Barclay, as cited by Reuters.
In 2012, the number of suicides stood at 33.
