| 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. |