Suicide Attempts Near Roads: Help the
victim, protect the drivers: but not through a roadblock
Highway overpasses are now largely protected by covers making suicide
jumps less likely. Nevertheless, there are still unprotected bridges and
road adjacent buildings where an individual threatening to jump will cause
a traffic jam, not from onlookers, but also because large numbers of emergency
vehicles block the road. Typically, the area blocked is much larger than
the space the jumper can cover in his fall. As part of the referendum we
want a standardized procedure by which oncoming motorists are warned with
a projected light or laser about the jumpers overhead position, so that cars
can avoid that lane, but proceed through the adjacent lanes. Cars stopping
to watch at the side will be ticketed at once, and police shall not block
any lanes. Drivers will be responsible to observe the potential jumper and
chose which way to avoid him. The survival probability of the jump is higher
when falling on the roof of a slow moving car than when falling directly
onto the pavement, as the roof is somewhat elastic. Clearing the entire road
therefore does not help the jumper or the delayed motorists. If the driver
pulls the seat all the way back, leans back as far as possible from the windshield,
and covers his eyes, a body dropping on the windshield will not do much more
than break it. Instead of delaying thousands of cars, it is cheaper for
the state to replace the windshield. Roads are like the arteries of
society, they cannot be allowed to be held hostage.
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