2007/03/01 by Olive Bennewith, Mike Nowers, David Gunnell · 2 citations
Medicine · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Engineering · Mathematics · #Injury Epidemiology and Prevention #Agriculture and Farm Safety #Traumatic Brain Injury Research #Bridge (graph theory) #Suspension (topology) #Criminology #Forensic engineering #Engineering #Sociology #Medicine #Mathematics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.106.027136
openalex publication_date 2007/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We assessed the effect of the installation of barriers on the Clifton suspension bridge, Bristol, England, in 1998 on local suicides by jumping. Deaths from this bridge halved from 8.2 per year (1994-1998) to 4.0 per year (1999-2003; P=0.008). Although 90% of the suicides from the bridge were by males, there was no evidence of an increase in male suicide by jumping from other sites in the Bristol area after the erection of the barriers. This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of barriers on bridges in preventing site-specific suicides and suicides by jumping overall in the surrounding area.