# I Think I am ging to Jump off the Golden Gate **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 11, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462 "2008-10-11T13:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/21 "2008-10-11T21:32:50Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > What I don’t get is the point of the net. Won’t people just be able to jump off of it? “The net will be placed 20 feet below the deck, and will collapse around anyone who jumped into it, **making it difficult, if not impossible** , for anyone to leap to their death, the report said.” From here: [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/12/content\_10181005.htm](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/12/content_10181005.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/22 "2008-10-11T21:33:54Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > What I don’t get is the point of the net. Won’t people just be able to jump off of it? That’s what I was thinking. Can’t they just crawl to the edge of the net and jump off anyway? Or break their necks in the fall to the net? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/23 "2008-10-11T21:44:46Z")
Could you bring some weights to trigger the net, then jump? ---
**Author:** ![jtsPimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@jtsPimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtsPimp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/24 "2008-10-11T21:48:28Z")
hate to be the one to spoil the party, but I don’t think its cool to make fun of suicidal folk. These people have really strong issues in their lives and I just find this all a bit distasteful. On the other hand, I’m into skydiving. When I’m more experienced, I’d love to get into [BASE jumping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASE_jumping) and I’ve been eyeing up local buildings much smaller than the golden gate 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/25 "2008-10-11T21:54:42Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > So, if you want to kill yourself jumping off the GG Bridge, bring a gun. My plan is to hang myself the day after net completion. I’ll also be holding a bucket full of tickertape saying “LOL! HAHAHA!” That’ll fly up into the air. And they can put the picture on [Failblog.com](http://Failblog.com). Seriously, the state is $7B in debt and they waste their money on this crap? If you don’t want people to jump off it don’t make it accessible to pedestrians - does that not sound obvious to anyone else? What am I missing here? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/26 "2008-10-11T22:00:53Z")
You’d have a lot of pissed off people who would not appreciate closing the bridge to everyone because of a few bad apples. It may also be bad for tourism to close it. Also, it wouldn’t stop people from driving onto the bridge and abandoning their cars to jump. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/27 "2008-10-12T03:08:43Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > What a waste of money. > > Anyone who really wants to kill themselves can easily find another place to do so. Spending that $50 million won’t actually save any lives. There have been lots of studies showing it will. People who jump and survive almost never try again. Lots of people who jump have never been to a psychiatrist. There have been studies in other places showing that if you eliminate a popular place to commit suicide, the rate does go down. To be serious, this has been a gigantic deal around here. There is one group wanting to put up a barrier, and another objecting to the barrier blocking the view from the bridge. I suspect this odd sounding solution was chosen to keep the view and prevent the suicide from succeeding. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/28 "2008-10-12T03:39:48Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > What a waste of money. > > Anyone who really wants to kill themselves can easily find another place to do so. Spending that $50 million won’t actually save any lives. I suspect it will actually pay for itself eventually. In Tampa, the similar Skyway bridge is a popular spot for suicides, and everytime someone jumps the Coast Guard ends up having to conduct a sometimes lengthy search for the remains. I can easily see a hundred or more such searches a year adding up to a million bucks annually, while if they jumped off a nice building or shot themselves in their apartments, their remains would be much more economical to recover. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/29 "2008-10-12T03:43:36Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > If you haven’t seen it, check out [The Bridge](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799954/) , a sobering look at a year’s worth of jumpers and some of their stories. > [@Kalhoun](#): > > Excellent documentary. Agreed. A fascinating documentary. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/30 "2008-10-12T15:02:19Z")
This [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06suicide-t.html?scp=58&sq=suicide&st=cse](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06suicide-t.html?scp=58&sq=suicide&st=cse) was a recent article on the general topic of suicide & the impulsive nature of it. Seems pretty clear that barriers on famous places really do work at least in teh near term, saya few years. It’s not clear to me that a susbtitute place won’t emerge over time. e.g. will some nearby cliff become the new local suicide magnet over 20 years? ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/31 "2008-10-12T17:29:07Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > I see in the New York Times that the Powers That Be are going to erect a fifty million dollar anti-suicide net under the Golden Gate Bridge. > > Fifty million doesn’t buy as much as it used to. > > It seem up to 120 people per year dive off the bridge, although some may do so undetected and undiscovered. Bridge people manage to talk two thrids of them out of it. > > The Times says the net will be made of steel covered with plastic and anyone jumoing into it will cause the net to collapse around them, like a big trampoline. While diving off the bridge never appealled to me before, I can see this thing becomeing a huge tourist draw. > > Sounds like a blast. I thought it was around 12, not 120; about one a month on average. (unfortunately, 1 a month since circa 1937) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/32 "2008-10-12T23:53:43Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > “The net will be placed 20 feet below the deck, and will collapse around anyone who jumped into it, **making it difficult, if not impossible** , for anyone to leap to their death, the report said.” > > From here: > [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/12/content\_10181005.htm](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/12/content_10181005.htm) Throw something over the side first, then jump. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/33 "2008-10-13T01:28:26Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Throw something over the side first, then jump. Yeah…I’m so depressed I’m going to run out and find a 200 lb Mythbusters dummy to throw off the bridge ahead of me.☹ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/34 "2008-10-13T01:42:54Z")
This net will also ruin one of my favorite bridge-walking activities. I used to grab a few daises(/landscape flower du jour) and drop them over the railing. It was cool to see them catch the wind currents as they fell, scooting in one direction or the other as they headed towards the water. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/35 "2008-10-13T03:40:23Z")
I see some entrepeneur selling bolt cutters from booths at either end of the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/36 "2008-10-13T08:07:51Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] What a waste of money. Anyone who really wants to kill themselves can easily find another place to do so. Spending that $50 million won’t actually save any lives. [/QUOTE] Hell, you can just walk about half a mile and jump off the gun emplacements _overlooking_ the bridge. The “ride” would be a bit bumpy, but it’d probably still do the trick with almost as good a view. Or you could buy a bag of kitty litter and toss it, first. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462/37 "2008-10-14T14:56:54Z")
> [@jtsPimp](#): > > hate to be the one to spoil the party, but I don’t think its cool to make fun of suicidal folk. These people have really strong issues in their lives and I just find this all a bit distasteful. This isn’t about making fun of suicidal people; it’s about making fun of the notion that they kill themselves just because the Golden Gate Bridge is available, and they wouldn’t do it anywhere else. > [@Voyager](#): > > There have been lots of studies showing it will. People who jump and survive almost never try again. But they won’t. They’ll know the net is there, and jump somewhere else, where they won’t survive. > [@Voyager](#): > > There have been studies in other places showing that if you eliminate a popular place to commit suicide, the rate does go down. I lived in the Bay Area for quite a while. There are LOTS of substitute places to commit suicide. Just bridges alone provide six more great spots. Just stop your car in the middle of the slow lane on the Dumbarton highrise, or anywhere along the Bay Bridge, or whereever. Step out and hop over the side. There are some awesome cliffs. In fact, as **Ranchoth** said, there’s a great spot overlooking the Golden Gate. Preventing suicide is like preventing any other human behavior. You have to make people not want to do it. Putting a net under the Golden Gate Bridge is like getting rid of cigarette vending machines–people just find another place to get them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-am-ging-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate/467462.md?page=1)