Man Jumps from Cold Spring Bridge

If there was a barrier he would have done it somewhere else. A barrier won't prevent suicide. Let the debate begin...

Not to be disrespectful but what precisely is wrong with suicide. Should we all not have the right to decide when life is no longer better than death. I would not chose death by jumping off a bridge but to each their own. It certainly seems a heck of a lot better than a slow lingering death from cancer or years of living in a state of depression, sadness and misery.

Noletaman- not only disrespectful but callous too! but hey someone had to do it, right? Any time I read a news story about suicide I cringe knowing that it is only a matter of minutes before someone feels compelled to make such a remark. Did you know this young man? His family? You know they're torn up right now.

Once again, what is missing in the debate is *why* so many people are killing themselves.

Bridge barriers do nothing to relieve the desperation that drives people to take their lives.

I agree with all of you... this is not a simple topic because we do need to think about how it would feel had that been someone we were close to. When I say not easy I don't mean the bridge, I mean suicide and the prevention of it, not the means that people choose to take.

I recently watched my father die a slow, humiliating and painful death from ALS and let me tell you, he spoke early on about suicide because he was interested in choosing how he would die and knew later he would be immobile and unable to do anything. He chose not to kill himself so that he could enjoy more time with his family but in the latter part of his disease, I wonder if he felt differently...

I believe if someone really wants to die bad enough they will find a way. If there is a barrier and they want to jump off the bridge, they will go around it or climb over it. They say that those few extra minutes may make them change their mind but consider already the length of time it takes to get to the bridge - do you really think two more minutes will change things? No way.

Maybe if I was a first responder who had to clean up the carnage I would feel differently. My Dad was a paramedic and was called there once to clean up after a jumper and it was horrific.

I might be mistaken, but haven't there been more traffic deaths on the 154 this year than bridge suicides? Shouldn't we focus on making travel on the road safer? We could probably line the entire route with bumper lanes for the price tag of the bridge barrier. A simple barrier between oncoming traffic would help a lot.

Benjamin makes a good point.

If only drivers would slow down, stop drinking/driving and stop texting/talking, the roads would be safer. Oh, and keep their cars maintained and tires properly inflated would help too. Personal responsibility, anyone??

again, can we let the body get cold and the family past the initial horror before the arrogant, completely uninformed speculation of how this man would have "done it anyway"ensues? the callousness of this community is staggering at times. especially when the veil of anonymity is added.

The bridge's "beauty"? Compared to what? For beauty, take the bridge out.

The vertical picket design looks fine to me. Forget the silly arguments that favor aesthetics and decry cost as factors.

Yes, they'll just go do it somewhere else. Duh. The world is full of suicide sites. But if a barrier is installed, they won't do it there. If that is what you want to prevent, that is the solution.
Elementary.

If you wish to maintain the suicide status quo at the Cold Springs Bridge, then do nothing. Had that barrier been incorporated into the initial design and built accordingly, we would not be having this discussion now.

I cannot hold with the "beauty and aesthetics" argument at all because it is a vapid and baseless excuse to keep things are they are. really people, it's a friggin' bridge. It serves a function. It isn't even all that pretty and, as a tour guide, I drive over and under it 2 to 3 times a week.

Is the bridge more beautiful than a human life? It is a fair trade? If it is, then you have your answer. Do nothing. And this from someone who maintains that people should have the right to end their life as they see fit. It is even noble sometimes. (See Masada and other historical references).

Unfortunately, more than often it looms as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Still, I'd rather have them jumping than driving like the geisterfahrers in Germany, or worse.

So what are you going to do, SB County residents? Save the beauty, or save the life?

"Still, I'd rather have them jumping than driving like the geisterfahrers in Germany, or worse."

I'm guessing the word geisterfahrer is a combination of geist (ghost/spirit) and the verb fahren (to drive). I'm interested in what you mean by this.

I am always baffled that some one has not seen people walking on 154 and called police ( on their hands-free device, of course) to alert them to a potenial suicide on the bridge. Perhaps the County Sheriffs should post a telephone number if it seems that someone may be contemplating suicide. At 28 years old, so much more to live for. Very sad.

A splattered body brings no beauty to a bridge. From my personal knowledge the fence on the 154 bridge has prevented suicide attempts and successes.

Most suicides are spontaneous and compulsive events. A suicide's worst opponent is time to think and someone to talk to.

sleuth -
the thing you forget in your ignorant rant on the terrible manners of complete strangers :
the world is an open forum of reflection and expression , and you would cut of these vital , primal even , freedoms , to enforce a catholic school ban on any topic you deem rude ?
get over your ego , pal , the world is a collective story owned by everyone ..

WHY BUILD A BARRIER?

"They'll just do it somewhere else."

- Suicide is not inevitable. More than 92% of those who are prevented from committing suicide DO NOT go on to kill themselves. This percentage is even higher (about 95%) for would-be bridge jumpers.
- Research shows that construction of a barrier at one location DOES NOT result in an increased rate of jumping at other nearby locations, or an increase in suicides by other means.
- Even if a thwarted jumper did attempt suicide by other means, s/he would have an 88% of surviving. A jump from Cold Spring Bridge is always fatal.

"What about freedom of choice?"

- *Choice* implies a reasoned decision made by a healthy person in a rational state of mind. Depression is an *illness* with a biological basis, which impairs rational decision-making and is associated with impulsive behavior.
- Those who are prevented from committing suicide by jumping are statistically less likely to commit suicide at a later time than individuals who attempt suicide by other means.

BARRIERS WORK.

- Barriers are the only proven means of preventing suicide by jumping.
- The leading organizations dedicated to suicide prevention support to construction of bridge barriers to stop suicides by jumping, including the American Psychiatric Association, the Harvard School of Public Health's Means Matter Campaign, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American Association of Suicidology, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Families for Depression Awareness, Mental Health America, Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, and Suicide Prevention Action Network USA.

Give a vulnerable person another chance at life.

Get the facts. Stop the tragedy at Cold Spring Bridge. Support the barrier.
http://www.stopthetragedy.org/
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[Comments by StoptheTragedy are posted by the administrator of the website www.stopthetragedy.org, who does not post comments on this forum under any other user name or alias.]

LOL at the last line. Nice try, sevendolphins.

Crisis counselors are available, at no charge, at the national hotline: 1-800-784-2433. Just fyi for anyone who might be drawn to this article due to themselves feeling low. (((hugs)))