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.
“Had the net been there, I would have been stopped by the police and gotten the help I needed immediately and never broken my back, never shattered three vertebrae, and never been on this path I was on,” said Hines, now a suicide prevention advocate. “I’m so grateful that a small group of like-minded people never gave up on something so important.”
Nearly 2,000 people have plunged to their deaths since the bridge opened in 1937.
City officials approved the project more than a decade ago, and in 2018 work began on the 20-foot-wide (6-meter-wide) stainless steel mesh nets. But the efforts to complete them were repeatedly delayed until now.
The nets — placed 20 feet (6 meters) down from the bridge’s deck — are not visible from cars crossing the bridge. But pedestrians standing by the rails can see them. They were built with marine-grade stainless steel that can withstand the harsh environment that includes salt water, fog and strong winds that often envelop the striking orange structure at the mouth of the San Francisco Bay.
Took a century near enough, didn’t it?
Holy shit, 6m down onto inflexible steel mesh. For reference, a 5 meter diving platform is significantly higher than a normal American high dive. That would really fucking hurt. But it would save your life.
There is a pretty harrowing documentary about people jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Apparently it happens so often that if you set up a camera, after long enough you will catch lots of people considering it and doing it.
I think it’s called “The Bridge”? It was on YouTube when I watched it years ago, dunno if it’s still there. Maybe someone else will find it. But heads up, it’s not exactly a fun watch.
So, now you just need to jump from the net after it catches you? That does not seem like much of a barrier.
Think of the first fall as a “proof of concept”. If after falling ~20 feet to a chain link fence, you still feel like dragging your injured self to the edge of the fence to finish the job, then it’s highly unlikely anything will stop you from killing yourself. The fence is kind of a “try before you buy” thing.
“Had the net been there, I would have been stopped by the police and gotten the help I needed immediately and never broken my back…"
This logic doesn’t track for me. How would a new have led to police intervention and help? Or, am I now realizing they mean after the jump and landing in the net, then there would be police? But it’s phrased poorly. The net would stop the death, not police. What a crappy sentence. I truly can’t tell.
… sure hope the contractor doesn’t install razor-sharp steel net by mistake to spaghettify (french fry cut?) anything falling on it …
depends on the size of the holes in the net and whether the person jumps pencil or belly flop
Are you 12?
No, but I’m sure I’ve seen Jerry do this to Tom when I was 12.
So your justification is a cartoon?
The US government is going to do literally everything it can other than provide universal Healthcare until the country collapses.
For real. It would be interesting to see the average financial depth of the people who attempt suicide in the US.
Unpopular opinion: This is a complete waste of taxpayer money that could’ve gone towards any number of issues that actually cause people to want to kill themselves.
Here’s a thought, you can do multiple things if you didn’t have people in the US fighting socialised health care. But until you do, it’s suicide nets for all.
Oh boy, I love following in the footsteps of the Chinese Communist Parties solutions.
Obviously every action they do is the correct action!
Yep yep!
Way to miss the point.
Way to miss the joke.
Reminds me of that Bojack Horseman poem.
"But this is it, the deed is done silence drowns the sound. Before I leaped I should’ve seen the view from halfway down.
I really should’ve thought about the view from halfway down. I wish I could’ve known about the view from halfway down—"
Complete waste of public funds.
Removing carbon monoxide from cooking gas lines in the UK caused a massive drop in suicides. Without an easy DIY suicide machine at home people literally stopped killing themselves.
… though in America they’re probably just going to use a gun or fentanyl. Those are easy DIY suicide techniques too.
Removing carbon monoxide from cooking gas lines in the UK caused a massive drop in suicides
Did it really? I live in the US and have read that an inexpensive improvement to burners would lead to decreased indoor air pollution, but industry is against it. This other tidbit would make that resistance so much worse than it already is.
Yup, they used to use something called “town gas” which was made from coal refining. People would put their heads in the oven, turn on the gas, and wait. Quick painless death - just going to sleep. Learned it listening to the Meeting Strangers audiobook in a section about Coupling Theory.
meeting resistance from people who did not want to alter the iconic landmark
Well this attitude leads to not only increased homelessness, buy I guess also suicide rates 🙁
I mean, there’s a solution that doesn’t involve altering the landmark, but would those people support actually fixing the problem?
Ensuring people’s basic needs are met and they have access to mental health support is a lot more difficult than putting an unsightly band-aid on the problem.
Good point. I apologize for a fairly off the cuff remark about this. We really do need better mental health support in the US.
How about instead of nets, we instead install a functioning mental health care system. This has ‘put bulletproof vests on school kids’ written all over it.
Why not both haha. But yes I agree. 2k people killing themselves off this since it’s open is insane
eh, but making this net prolly just makes them kill themselves in other (perhaps more harmful) places, like off train platforms and using guns
This says 4000 people died by suicide in California in one year. 2k people over almost 100 years isn’t crazy. These nets won’t make a debt in the yearly total.
Damn. We gonna need a lot more nets then
We’ll need nets around every handgun.
The question is how many of those suicides were conducted by jumping off the bridge. And don’t say “they’d just choose another way to end themselves”. Studies and historical evidence shows that making suicide even slightly less convenient to perform actually does save lives. People get fixated on a method that seems easy. When that method is no longer easy, it gives them a chance to not go through with it.
Now ask yourself if we had proper quality healthcare for this, how many of those 2,000 would still be with us- vs. if we had nets.
I guarantee every one of them would have found another way.
Oh no this is definitely true. I still would like to advocate for mental health services and better access for sure
Mental health care, but also better wealth distribution/quality of living for everyone.
“What colour do you want your dragon?”
The nets — placed 20 feet (6 meters) down from the bridge’s deck — are not visible from cars crossing the bridge. But pedestrians standing by the rails can see them. They were built with marine-grade stainless steel that can withstand the harsh environment that includes salt water, fog and strong winds
20 foot drop onto “nets” made of stainless steel? I feel like this may still be a fatal fall.
Edit: I’m not negative on the idea, but it sounds like you are still having a pretty bad time if one of these nets saves your life.
Stainless steel can be woven into a net that would break the fall, I don’t know if that’s how it works but it would be possible.
I just read a guardian article about it, it’s actually kind of fucked up:
The nets are meant to deter people from jumping and to curb the death rate of those who still attempt to jump, though they will likely be badly injured.
“It’s stainless-steel wire rope netting, so it’s like jumping into a cheese grater,” Dennis Mulligan, the general manager of the bridge district, told the Associated Press. “It’s not soft. It’s not rubber. It doesn’t stretch. We want folks to know that if you come here, it will hurt if you jump.”
Notice it says CURB the death rate, which sounds like they anticipate some people will still die? Jesus ffs.
Yeah that’s pretty fucked up. Sounds like the punishment for trying to kill yourself is intentional maiming or possible death. Sheesh.
Now I am kinda negative on the idea.
Worse still they anticipate that they’re gonna make it hurt.
Remember folks suicide is a crime. You can, and will be forcefully locked away for trying to check yourself out.
