# Please do not throw yourself under a train.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [January 14, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157 "2013-01-14T12:02:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/61 "2013-01-15T01:17:36Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> I sometimes wonder if public suicide clinics aren’t a good idea…
Couldn’t we just have optional gladiator fights? Kind of a win/win.
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/62 "2013-01-15T02:13:25Z")
> [@Yllaria](#):
>
> …
> In her opinion, gunshots were easiest on the police, techs, and coroners, especially if taped. A gunshot is an obvious cause of death and as long as there was clear evidence that it was suicide, no blood tests or cutting were needed at the autopsy, just x-rays to show the path of travel…
I kinda faked a suicide once, back when Kurt Cobain whacked himself, during my misspent youth. MTV reported it, and set up a suicide hotline. I laughed that Cobain had whacked himself, because he _was_ a self-important jackass, then I called their line (I was drunk at the time). I called myself “Jack”, and kept the worker on the line for several minutes, pretending to be worked up and suicidal because Cobain had whacked himself. Eventually, when I got bored with the crank call (which I knew was going to happen, and had prepared for), I used my cigarette to light a firecracker next to the phone, and said “Fuck it! I’m doing it!” and let the firecracker go bang. She said “Jack, _Jack_, are you there? _ARE YOU THERE?_” I then burst out laughing, and hung up. That was probably the worst call she ever dealt with. And probably the most assholish thing _I’ve_ ever done.
No, having _been_ cruel enough to do that, I _don’t_ think that’s “easiest” on the people who have to deal with it. And I’m ashamed that I did that to her.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/63 "2013-01-15T02:18:10Z")
> [@Gyrate](#):
>
> The guy who described this to me said “It really reminds you that the human body is mostly water”. He also said that often the feet “blow off”.
My most distinctive memory from the deliberate\* I witnessed was the tooth fragment sliding down the window on a snail-trail of red ooze. I was several cars back from the impact zone so yeah, splatter. There were more details, but…
I’ll stop now.
- it was intentional, that is, the opposite of an accident, hence “a deliberate”
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/64 "2013-01-15T02:23:33Z")
Ugh. A woman threw herself in front of the train right at my station one evening, about an hour before we got there. When we pulled in, firetrucks were hosing down the parking lot, and flatbed trucks were hauling away a bunch of cars.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/65 "2013-01-15T02:23:34Z")
> [@flight](#):
>
> Hmm, now that makes me wonder what the most considerate way to commit suicide is. You would need to make it the easiest and least traumatic you could for the people who had to take care of your corpse.
Well, my oldest sister offed herself by locking herself in a garage with a running car back in 1988. Carbon monoxide poisoning makes for a relatively attractive corpse. She was also considerate enough to post a warning on the garage door cautioning about the hazards of high concentrations of CO.
The neighbor whose car and garage she borrowed was still traumatized.
Come to think of it, my family, and the family of her long term girlfriend, were pretty effing traumatized, too.
But the police, EMTs, and others who had to deal with her body? Probably one of the less messy and nasty suicides they had to deal with. So yeah, arguably it was easier on the people taking care of the corpse. Still sucks for the friends and family left in the wake of a suicide, though.
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/66 "2013-01-15T02:27:19Z")
I saw video of a grade-crossing accident just down the line from where I live. There were cameras set up because soonish some special/historic/something train would be coming through. There was a big Metra train parked at the intersection, and the lights and bells were still going. Two people decided to cross in front of it. The guy jumped back quickly - there was another train coming from the same direction that train had come from, and was blocked from view by the parked train. (The bells continuing to ring should have clued them in that there was still a moving train nearby.) The woman didn’t. Surprisingly, she just looked like a crash-test dummy. Must have gotten clipped in just the right/wrong way, and went tumbling through the air. These days, the Metra trains honk their horns if they’re blowing through a station that another train is stopped at.
My husband saw the cleanup crew at one pedestrian-vs-train incident. He just said, “They were using small bags.”
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### Author:  [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/67 "2013-01-15T03:06:20Z")
> [@kambuckta](#):
>
> You’ll be forgotten tomorrow by all who were fucked over by your shit tonight. Yeah, it’s been a long day, but whatever. Your mum, your dad, your wife, your husband or your kids won’t have the pleasure of forgetfulness though.
>
> Take your shit elsewhere.
I haven’t forgotten my friend who sat on the tracks at a hideously low point in her life, and I don’t think any of the people on that train have forgotten her either. Nor have the 9 other people who made the same choice in the suicide cluster we had in my home town that week, or the many in the cluster the following year, been forgotten.
It’s interesting to see the feelings of a community shift from angry commuters to just all around sad as the number of commuters who actually knew a jumper increases over time. The inconvenience becomes a lot less important I’ll tell you that.
From personal experience I can tell you that there’s almost nothing worse than commuting by train the next day and listening to people complain about a commute delay that turned a good friend into mist and chunks.
So, complain if you must. Lord knows there’s nothing worse than taking extra time to get home from work, but pay attention to the volume of your voice as you whine about it because you never know if the woman two seats over had to steel her nerves to even get on the damn train this morning and can’t stand to listen to you for fear of falling apart.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/68 "2013-01-15T05:18:03Z")
> [@lieu](#):
>
> From someone (and there may be many more of us) that is completely removed (not in a body bag) from train commutes, where in the world is this happening on a frequent basis?
There is a subway station in Barcelona which bears the sad nickname of “suicide central”. I don’t know how frequent it is, but I do know several neighbors whose charity of choice is the local suicide line; they figure it benefits them directly.
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### Author:  [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/69 "2013-01-15T09:02:31Z")
My son had a best friend that killed himself by train in Germany. He (my son) was called to identify him (best friend) by his tattoos, and then I listened as he (my son) wailed his agony to me over the phone. My god. I don’t think I can really describe the pain of that time.
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### Author:  [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/70 "2013-01-15T09:12:06Z")
> [@moejoe](#):
>
> I haven’t forgotten my friend who sat on the tracks at a hideously low point in her life
Not a suicide, but your phrasing reminded me of this story. [2 Teen Girls, Injured By Train, Cope With Change : NPR](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100875845)
Don’t throw yourself under a train, OR fall asleep sunbathing on the tracks kids!
:rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/71 "2013-01-15T09:19:14Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#):
>
> Not a suicide, but your phrasing reminded me of this story. [2 Teen Girls, Injured By Train, Cope With Change : NPR](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100875845)
>
> Don’t throw yourself under a train, OR fall asleep sunbathing on the tracks kids!
> :rolleyes:
My dad’s workmate lost a son to a train, but they’ll never really know if he was on the tracks because he wanted to end his life, or if he just fell asleep there. With alcohol in his system, the answer could go either way.
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/72 "2013-01-15T09:34:55Z")
You’ll have regular suicides on your commute by drongos wearing t-shirts saying “Hi Kambuckta. Stay punctual!”
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/73 "2013-01-15T09:38:25Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#):
>
> Pay all of your bills and debts off in advance. Gradually wind down your friendships. Write a will with a lawyer. Program your phone to send a prerecorded message to the police (non-emergency line, of course) 12 hours after your attempt. If you don’t live alone, make a reason to get your family out of the house for at least the day. Seal the garage, start your car, and lay down inside an opened body bag. Have your identification documents gathered into a stack next to you.
>
> Not my idea at all, I’ve read it somewhere, but if you are at this level of consideration for others, surely you’re rational enough to realize that the more considerate option is to keep living. Not to mention that for most people the paying of bills and sunset of relationships should take at least a year.
My wife’s cousin was a “courteous suicide” - paid his bills, left a note on the door to call the police before coming in, put all his relevant documents on the table and a tarp under his body before shooting himself in the chest. Reportedly left a very neat scene.
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/74 "2013-01-15T09:41:28Z")
I find “clean” suicide scenes like Heaven’s Gate freaky. I prefer the mayhem of Guyana.
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### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/75 "2013-01-15T10:55:01Z")
> [@Muffin](#):
>
> Jeremy Clarkson has stated that the way to prevent delay caused by a train-suicide is to not stop the train, given that stopping will not help the person who just killed himself.
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> I read recently that (train drivers …are expected to inspect the scene afterwards, so the emergency crews know what they’re dealing with.
>
> ETA: It was the [article](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/nyregion/subway-deaths-haunt-those-at-trains-controls.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0) that **friedo** linked to.
I should say that is unnecessarily traumatizing for the train driver and causing unnecessary delays. How often will they have anything other to report then: “he is dead and all over the place”? Is there a chance of them having to report: “he was tied to the tracks, very dead, but I saw an evildoer lurking behind a tree to remove the ropes and make it look like suicide?”
Or: He somehow managed to lay down in the middle of the tracks and survive it"?
Also: is it too dangerous for ambulances and police etc to work near the tracks to collect and clean the remains away, when trains occasionally pass? Is that why a suicide causes such an hours long delay?
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/76 "2013-01-15T11:16:17Z")
It’s [not always fatal,](http://gothamist.com/2011/01/24/astoria_resident_survives_suicidal.php) so it’s considered a rescue incident until it’s proven that it’s not.
ETA: [Around a third of people who are struck by DC Metro trains survive.](http://inthecapital.com/2012/03/08/a-third-of-wmata-metro-suicides-survive-the-attempt/)
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/77 "2013-01-15T11:47:47Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> Also: is it too dangerous for ambulances and police etc to work near the tracks to collect and clean the remains away, when trains occasionally pass? Is that why a suicide causes such an hours long delay?
In addition to passing trains, many railways also operate on a third-rail system which poses a significant danger of electrocution to emergency and clean-up crews. Turn the power off and the trains can’t run.
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### Author:  [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/78 "2013-01-15T11:52:12Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> Also: is it too dangerous for ambulances and police etc to work near the tracks to collect and clean the remains away, when trains occasionally pass? Is that why a suicide causes such an hours long delay?
Yup - even rail workers who are used to working on tracks can be taken out by unexpected circumstances - [four were killed and five injured](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tebay_rail_accident) by a runaway train in the UK in 2004.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/79 "2013-01-15T12:18:55Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> I should say that is unnecessarily traumatizing for the train driver and causing unnecessary delays. How often will they have anything other to report then: “he is dead and all over the place”? Is there a chance of them having to report: “he was tied to the tracks, very dead, but I saw an evildoer lurking behind a tree to remove the ropes and make it look like suicide?”
> Or: He somehow managed to lay down in the middle of the tracks and survive it"?
People do survive getting hit by trains, remarkably enough. I have a friend whose van was hit by a train (not a suicide attempt but rather malfunctioning crossing gates - a couple other vehicles got hit, too) and aside from a slight speech impediment due to head injury he seems to have made a complete recovery. He, of course, was _extremely_ lucky.
When my sister was in medical school they wheeled a young man arrived at the ER in two separate ambulances, one with a still breathing part and a few pieces and the other with just pieces. He actually survived, at least for awhile. Never knew if that was a suicide or young person stupidity or something else.
We had another incident on one of my commuter trains when we had a sudden, hard stop. Two child bikes and a kid on one side of the tracks, another bike on the other side of the tracks. More bikes than kids, very worrisome. The conductor rather than the driver went to look on that one, and he was very, very much dreading having to go out that door. I swear it looked like he was about to cry. Turns out the there were as many kids as bikes but the “missing” two where hiding a little further away in the grass and bushes but it was a nasty time as the conductors walked up and down the length of train looking for blood and body parts and hoping the kids were off to the side, which it turned out they were.
The driver/conductor/somebody has to go see if it’s a death or if there is enough of someone left that there is a potential to save a life. Even in “salsa” cases with lots of splatter the person might still survive if the splatter comes from limbs rather than, say, head or torso.
> [@](#):
>
> Also: is it too dangerous for ambulances and police etc to work near the tracks to collect and clean the remains away, when trains occasionally pass? Is that why a suicide causes such an hours long delay?
Correct. The trains have to be stopped in order for clean up to commence.
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### Author:  [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-do-not-throw-yourself-under-a-train/647157/80 "2013-01-15T12:29:25Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> It’s [not always fatal,](http://gothamist.com/2011/01/24/astoria_resident_survives_suicidal.php) so it’s considered a rescue incident until it’s proven that it’s not.
>
> ETA: [Around a third of people who are struck by DC Metro trains survive.](http://inthecapital.com/2012/03/08/a-third-of-wmata-metro-suicides-survive-the-attempt/)
Yup; in my earlier post I mentioned the guy that attempted but didn’t die til a week later, as well as the 6 attempts to five successes ( total of 11 ) last year in DC.
The most recent attempt resulted in the total shutdown of the station for almost 5 hours as they brought in the medical examiner, police investigators, and Metro admins. They had to shut the power off to the rail so no one else was a casualty, which meant no trains servicing that line for the duration of the investigation. About 15 minutes before I left work, trains had just started single-tracking. It was a commuting mess.
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