Hi everyone! My name is Ash and I m from Australia. I was just watching Dr Phill and this episode was about a documentary someone made about people who jump from the bridge, and people that have lost their family and friends.I was just wondering if there was anything anyone can do to help stop this? Obviously I dont know much about this being from Australia but couldnt the bridge maybe be patrolled or have video surveillance cameras or maybe fences put up? Like i said i do not know much about this and it is just so sad to hear about people taking their own lives..especially doing it as people drive and walk past and stuff.
It s not a problem with the bridge itself, it s a problem with the people jumping. It s tragic, yes... but if someone wants to kill themselves then they ll typically find a way, and the means they choose to do so with can hardly be blamed. It s an issue that needs to be addressed (mostly by the families) long before the person ever gets to the edge, and not by taxpayers via the bridge itself.That said, it IS patrolled (specifically for that purpose) and has been for a long time... and there are cameras and everything else. There s a proposal (which I think went through but was then challenged due to budget issues?) to put a safety net up. But, imo, it s pointless because, again, this is a problem with the people, not the bridge, and if the burden is to be put on taxpayers then it should go to programs assisting in helping people from getting to that point in the first place (ironically, amidst this debate, many such social services and benefits for the mentally ill have been cut in the past year or so). And as someone else said, someone could jump to the net then from the net. Or, frankly, not even jump from the bridge at all - at both ends of the bridge are extremely high and treacherous cliffs - one need only jump from them and avoid the bridge entirely.People have been killing themselves long before the GG Bridge and still continue to do so in no shortage of ways... so hopefully nothing will be done about the bridge itself - it would just be a waste.
They already do patrol the Golden Gate Bridge and they have a system of cameras that look for traffic problems and possible suicide attempts. They have recently considered putting some type of a catch net along the sides of the bridge, but a determined individual could likely jump into the net and then crawl to the edge of the net and fall from there. A person who is determined to take their own life can find any number of ways to complete the task.
If a person is determined to commit suicide there is nothing to stop them. There is always a balcony, a cliff, a roof top, or any numerous venues for such a deed. Safety measures should always be practiced for the general public.
We have enough regulations already. I don t see there is anything more to be done. It hardly ever happens. Once every few years.
There are regular security patrols. Although they re there to guard against anti-government protesters as much as the suicidal. There are also suicide hotline phones on the bridge itself.There has been a battle over constructing some sort of physical barrier for decades. The city proposed a fence. But it deemed too ugly by architects. Restricting public access would raise the ire of the tourism industry. Raising the guard rails would annoy historians, who insist that it would ruin the Art Deco design of the bridge. They finally voted to approve a net underneath the bridge in September 2008. It would do the same job as a fence or guard rail with less intrusion.But then the economic crisis hit and the plan has been on hold indefinitely. The Golden Gate is also a national landmark. Any additional construction would likely require congressional approval. And they have been rather busy lately with health care reform and such.