Patterns of pre-crash behaviour in railway suicides and the effect of corridor fencing: a natural experiment in New South Wales.

This study tested the hypothesis that higher standards of corridor fencing reduce the proportion of train suicides in the non-jumping category. Data was analyzed as a natural experiment for 171 cases of apparent railway suicides in New South Wales (NSW) for the period 2011-2018. Results were congruent with the hypothesis. A higher level of corridor fencing in metropolitan Sydney was associated with a lower proportion in the non-jumping category (33%) compared with regional areas (74%). The article contributes by showing that: (i) fencing appears to lead to a reduction in some types of rail suicides and thus; (ii) contributes to a lower overall rate of suicide by train; and (iii) even with fencing, the non-jumping incidents warrant attention for appropriate countermeasures. PMID: 31480901 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion - Category: Accident Prevention Tags: Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot Source Type: research