Research School of Management, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Transport for NSW, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia.
Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot. 2019 Dec;26(4):423-430. doi: 10.1080/17457300.2019.1660376. Epub 2019 Sep 4.
Suicides on railway systems remain a significant concern world-wide. Understanding patterns of pre-crash behaviour, whether jumping, lying or wandering on tracks, is important for the design of preventative measures, yet prior studies have reported divergent patterns of behaviour. 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.
铁路系统自杀仍然是一个全球性的重大问题。了解碰撞前行为模式，无论是跳轨、卧轨还是在铁轨上徘徊，对于预防措施的设计很重要，但先前的研究报告了不同的行为模式。本研究检验了以下假设：更高标准的走廊围栏会降低非跳轨类火车自杀的比例。这项研究对 2011 年至 2018 年新南威尔士州（NSW）171 例明显的铁路自杀事件进行了自然实验分析。结果与假设一致。与地区相比（74%），在大都市区悉尼，走廊围栏的标准越高，非跳轨类（33%）的比例越低。该文章的贡献在于表明：（i）围栏似乎可以减少某些类型的铁路自杀事件，因此；（ii）有助于降低整体火车自杀率；（iii）即使有了围栏，非跳轨事件也需要采取适当的对策。
