I think I got concerned the first times is listened to “accident de personne/personenunfall” in the train. Since then…I’m annoyed and wish them an eternal afterlife in hell.
Well, SBB will try to the reduce the number of suicides by using more neutral terms to avoid people getting inspired. So, prepare to listen to “Fremdereignis” = external event if you are in the train station. If you’re on the affected train, the conductor will still say “accident de personne/personenunfall”
Pretty sure (from discussions in the UK, waaay back, with a mate who’s a railway union boss and driver) that most jumpers don’t do it in stations anyway. As I recall, second time it happened the driver would be off sick for up to a year being treated for it, third time they’d be retired off with a full pension. The trauma level is significant, apparently.
Platform barriers with doors, such as they have on some airport shuttles and some parts of the London underground/DLR network, require mm perfect lining up and additional computerised interlocking systems, not just a driver who’s good enough to stop at a specific point.
Very difficult, if not practically speaking impossible, to retrofit for use with a variety of historic rolling stock.
There are more suicides by train in Switzerland than many other countries due to the extensive rail network, easily accessible by foot and road.
What makes a place attractive for suicides can simply be because it is a popular, or renown place for suicide - termed a hotspot:
5.3 Local distribution according to SBB data The SBB
defines hotspots as operating points and route sections
with at least ten suicides in ten years. At the end of 2017,
10 places met this criterion. Nine of these hotspots are
train stations and one hotspot is a section of route. Within
the last ten years, 132 suicides took place in these
hotspots, which is around 11 percent of all suicides (1183)
in this period. On average, 1.3 events take place at a
hotspot per year
These would appear to be in stations.
But:
89 percent of rail suicides do not take place at hotspots and are not affected by hotspot protection. These rail suicides are distributed across the network, with smaller temporal and spatial clusters occurring. For this large proportion of rail suicides, measures must be taken that have a network-wide effect and whose implementation is not tied to local areas.
What a horrible thing to say. You went on with your day, just inconvenienced. The persons who jump in front of a train have likely suffered far longer than you think you did, and felt they had no other choice. I can’t imagine what that must feel like.
I don’t like being inconvenienced by one of these incidents, but I could never wish evil upon a person who made such a drastic choice. I can only hope they rest in peace, because they certainly never found peace in this life.
It was (the comment you quoted, not yours…just to be clear) one of those ignorant and insensitive comments people can make in totally inappropriate situations. It’s not only the person who could do such a thing, but also the family and friends who will have to deal with the trauma and the grief of losing someone close like this. Depression can be a horrible disease.
I’ve heard that in Japan they solved the problem by announcing very high “cleaning” fees born by the family. Since then suiciders prefer places like Aokigahara - Wikipedia
What about the poor train driver who, as Oakbrook mentioned above will have a trauma for life. A fair number are unable to continue working after one of these incidents. What about everyone else that has to witness the results and/or clear up the mess afterwards?
Totally valid points but it doesn’t excuse the vibe of that comment. I’m not sure why are we even arguing these points, it’s clear we all sympathise with the driver and the witnesses. However, most probably if you ask one of these people they’ll prove to be much more sympathetic than some other people who only hear that these things do happen. Maybe we’re coping with this stuff in different ways, who knows.
Suicide has always been a problem in Switzerland and jumping in front of the train is unfortunately one result of this. I’ve spoken to train engineers who have conceded to the problem and, in fact, are warned about experiencing the tragedy at least once in their professional life. It’s indeed an ongoing issue and unfortunately it continue.
Most Swiss know at least one person who has ended their lives so abruptly. An aquaintance of mine did this because she could not deal with the tragic death of her 12 year old son. Another man jumped because he couldn’t take the shame and guilt of his broken marriage and financial woes.
On the upside, Switzerland has taken immense strides in offering help and treatment for depression. So, although it’s understandable that passengers may be annoyed with delays due to “personenunfall”, please also be grateful that you don’t have to deal with those kind of mental issues.
I guess greenmount is right. This is my kind of cope. I might have been one of these persons “jumping in front of the train”…probably with another method because I was not living close to train tracks. So, the chastising of the dead is chastising that idiot me that still had to learn about ups and downs. The pursuit of perfection may be uplifting, or literal doom if it gets corrupted. See that story from Olygirl, what’s wrong with being divorced and broke?
I guess I cannot be 100% grateful because thoughts arise from time to time. At least I’ve quit the toxic pursuit of perfection and maybe even embraced mediocrity. Everyone take care, toxic expectations are deadly.
Well…you did say the wrong things. I put it on (the assumption that) you didn’t lose anyone close to you to depression. Personally I can assure you that after processing the grief and the trauma of losing someone like that, you would still feel an immense sorrow and loss (when remembering) that would prevent you from making this sort of comments.
But yeah, I figured it was your coping mechanism.
The trauma of seeing someone jumping in front of a train is horrible, it happened to my sister in the late 70s. She was waiting as normal for her train into London to go to work and noticed an agitated young man pacing up and down the platform, then just as a fast train was coming through he jumped. He was a patient from a mental hospital nearby. She ended up having 2 days off work as she was so upset. Another friend in the mid 80s was a station manager at one of the main commuter stations in London, a man jumped in front of a train that was terminating and as he was first aid trained he climbed down on to the rails to give assistance. The man had a massive head injury and there was no real chance for him so my friend sat with him and spoke to him whilst he passed away. He was commended for bravery.
When I lived in Scotland in the early 80s a neighbour jumped off a rail bridge outside Edinburgh, it was before the days of HRT and she couldn’t cope with the menopause. Many have jumped off the Forth road and rail bridges into the sea.
Suicide is a terrible end, a friend of my husband’s who introduced us hanged himself from the staircase of his house after being out in company for a drink one Friday night. He was found by 2 10 year old boys who went to his house on the Saturday morning because he hadn’t turned up for cricket practice, they looked through the letterbox and saw him. When I get a bit stressed I sometimes dream about him and it’s 30 years since he died.
I feel for you.
I didn’t look for any stats (big mistake on this forum!) but I have the feeling that men, particularly younger ones, are more vulnerable.