Pasadena's Suicide Bridge

Important Comments from Kate:

I worked in this field for a number of years and still follow the literature.

Addressing suicide, with either policy or therapy, from a means driven approach is pointless and in fact harmful since it distracts from addressing causal factors. Society feels better, but the science says this just drives more suicide into "hidden suicide" ie suicide misattributed to accidental self caused death

We now know from multiple peer reviewed studies in Australia (were there was broad reduction in access to one means of suicide due to wide-scale gun confiscation) and studies elsewhere. There was a lot of self congratulation in Australia with the sharp reduction in gun suicide in the late 1990's. About ten to 12 years later, though a different picture immersed. Not only had suicide by other means had increased, but self caused death by means associated with suicide, but not ruled suicide, had increased as well, and the aggregate increases were the same amount as the reduction inn firearms suicide.

Moreover when they drilled down to the cohorts known internationally to be more suicide prone, males in general, those with health issues, rural persons, late teen/early 20's and late 50's age cohorts,etc, it was precisely those cohorts which saw the immediate and sustained post gun control increase in "accidental" self caused death.

What was going on? Well, researchers have found that if you take two bridges, with the same number of fatal falls, and one has cameras and one does not, the one with cameras will have a higher ratio of suicide to accidental death here are cameras on a bridge. Hmmm.

With firearms what was discovered that resented with self inflicted gunshot, (and self inflicted hanging), coroners begin with a presumption of suicide, and require a high level of proof to move it to accidental. The exact opposite happens with coroners presented with self caused death by most other means. With drug overdose, toxin/poison death, CO2, falls from subway platforms,"falls" from buildings", single vehicle accidents into static objects, and others, the majority of coroners began with a presumption of accident and required affirmative (and rarely extant) and definitive proof of suicide. Else those were ruled accident death.

In short for every ten firearms suicides reduced, about four or five were replaced by increased suicide by other means ruled as suicide, and the other five or six were replaced with a new "accidental" death which was really a suicide. Unless one was willing to posit that directly coincident with wide gun confiscation Australians actually became lethally clumsy, suicide never decreased.

It is a feel good measure to use the means approach, when in fact pushing more suicides under the rug to be statistically tabulated as accident means we are merely avoiding addressing the actual causes.

More:

By the way today's USA Today has a piece on the apparent substantial increase in the 10-14 suicide rate. Nowhere mentioned in this CDC study is the fact that other studies show the self caused "accidental" death rate in this cohort decreased markedly.

In other words, the combined number is still about the the same, especially when you break down accidental to methods that are "self caused fatal accidents".

The blame is placed on social media and bullying, when in fact the effect of social media is likely not causal whatsoever,but rather recent attention to taking a look at social media history means coroners have documentation and evidence of depression or bullying and evidence of suicide intent.

Again what we are seeing is an observational bias shifting the recorded manner of death (eg sucide bs accidental) for exactly the same cause of death, rather than actual changes in manner.

I blame Damien Chazelle and his fatface.

There's a bridge like this in Portland called the Vista Bridge, but which almost everyone calls "The Suicide Bidge." it apparently has great views of downtown Portland from it, so it's a favorite for jumpers. They finally had to put up fencing.

Soory! Wrong image--LOL

We need to legalize, and legitimize, assisted non-dying in thirty days suicide.

Sigh. One more try, then I give up.

Throw Trump/Pence/McConnell/Ryan off of it.

I thought there were already barriers on that bridge?

Not on the seats, from which many jumpers vault themselves.

The full, unedited documentary, "The Bridge."

The Bridge is a 2006 Documentary that explored the effects of suicide on families that lost loved ones on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. The movie was mired with controversy regarding the directors permit. They lied to the issuing permit's office saying they were filming a nature documentary, but they secretly recorded months of footage including 23 actual suicides. Fair use allows for uploading for educational purposes.

Are you high, R4/5?

R7 I think your first two images were more appropriate.

They all start high r12. But then they descend very quickly.

I wanna die under that bridge in a summer of infinite sadness.

They should've installed the barriers BEFORE Trump was elected.

Fat old gays can even bring up Trump on a bridge thread.

I know someone who jumped off the Colorado Street Bridge. It's so weird to think that he's just another statistic.

*knew

You wouldn't catch me near that bridge!

The filmmaker of r11 was busted before he could finish filming a year's worth of suicides, and the resulting furor from the Parks Dept made him hurriedly insist that he was trying to "help" suicides. The low thematic quality of his resulting documentary make it clear he had something else in mind for his covertly filmed footage, but we will probably never know his original premise or his actual motive might have been.

LA Times:

@DanielleGersh 4 hours ago

Another suicide at iconic #ColoradoStreetBridge despite new fences put up. Neighbor says @PasadenaGov must do more ASAP.

The bridge doesn't look that high. Are the jumpers landing on concrete?

No, Rose, they're landing on silly putty!!

It crosses over the Arroyo Seco, a dry creek bed.

They're going to mess up that bridge and the people who want to die will just go elsewhere.

It happened with the Golden Gate Bridge -- they monitored and did surveillance and now are adding nets, but people just now walk in front of CalTrains.

it's a beautiful structure.

2018 Update

"While no one can explain the recent uptick in deaths, Maloyan suspects news coverage and social media may be factors."

Still pushing the lie.

[quote]Still pushing the lie.

The truth being?

from r1:

[quote]Addressing suicide, with either policy or therapy, from a means driven approach is pointless and in fact harmful since it distracts from addressing causal factors. Society feels better, but the science says this just drives more suicide into "hidden suicide" ie suicide misattributed to accidental self caused death

My dad jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. It was the most painful thing that has ever happened in my life. I wish he was able to get help for his severe depression.

Do you have to take the Boulevard of Broken Dreams to get to the Suicide Bridge?