It took decades, but San Francisco finally installs nets to stop suicides off Golden Gate Bridge

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kevin Hines regretted jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge the moment his hands released the rail and he plunged the equivalent of 25 stories into the Pacific Ocean, breaking his back.

Hines miraculously survived his suicide attempt at age 19 in September 2000 as he struggled with bipolar disorder, one of about 40 people who survived after jumping off the bridge.

Hines, his father, and a group of parents who lost their children to suicide at the bridge relentlessly advocated for a solution for two decades, meeting resistance from people who did not want to alter the iconic landmark with its sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

On Wednesday, they finally got their wish when officials announced that crews have installed stainless-steel nets on both sides of the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) bridge.

https://apnews.com/article/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-nets-san-francisco-11020bcfa279ba68eb72f72c0c5a2eef

[thatdemguy]

1. I want to know whats stopping them from jumping to the net them off the net

Sure it lessens the fall a little, but unless they change their minds nothing is stopping them.

[rpannier]

2. My thought

[drmeow]

4. The story says some people do exactly that

The most effective aspect of the nets (which can be seen by potential jumpers) is that it prevents them from jumping at all.

[JoseBalow]

5. Many people report immediately regretting it

as recounted in the OP. It is hoped that if the net doesn't deter them to begin with, it may give them an opportunity to change their mind, as you suggested. But you're right, a determined person could simply crawl to the edge of the net and jump from there.

It's impossible to know how many people have jumped from the bridge, but I hope to hear about people who changed their mind and were rescued from the net.

There's an excellent, albeit disturbing, documentary about the bridge's history with suicide:

The Bridge is a 2006 documentary film by Eric Steel spanning one year of filming at the Golden Gate Bridge which crosses the Golden Gate entrance to San Francisco Bay, connecting the city of San Francisco, California to the Marin Headlands of Marin County, in 2004. The film shows a number of suicides, and features interviews with family and friends of some of the identified people who had thrown themselves from the bridge that year and one person who had jumped previously and survived.

The film was inspired by a 2003 article titled "Jumpers", written by Tad Friend for The New Yorker magazine. The film crew shot almost 10,000 hours of footage, recording 23 of the known 24 suicides off the bridge in 2004.

Wikipedia article about the film

The full documentary The Bridge (2006) free from The Internet Archive

[shrike3]

6. Saw this movie. Won't ever forget it.

Glad the nets have been installed.

The original article, Jumpers, is also a read you don't forget.

[SarahD]

3. Why nets?

The idea is that they will land in the net and scare themselves out of finishing the job. And many of them will just look at the net and conclude it's too difficult. It does work, although the expense is big, and there's still debate about whether they'll simply turn to another method.