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Related Experiment Videos

Suicide on the London Underground System.

R Farmer1, I O'Donnell, T Tranah

  • 1Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, University of London, UK.

International Journal of Epidemiology
|September 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary

Incidents of people jumping or falling in front of trains on the London Underground have increased over 50 years. While case-fatality rates decreased, suicide proportions declined, with a hypothesis investigating station accessibility as a suicide determinant.

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Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Transportation Safety

Background:

  • Over the last 50 years, there has been a notable increase in incidents of individuals jumping or falling in front of trains within the London Underground system.
  • Concurrently, case-fatality rates for these events have decreased from 70% in the 1950s to approximately 55% in the present day.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the trends in fatalities and the classification of incidents (suicide, accident, open verdict) on the London Underground over the past 50 years.
  • To explore the hypothesis that the accessibility of London Underground stations may be a contributing factor in suicide incidents.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of incident data over a 50-year period within the London Underground.
  • Examination of changes in case-fatality rates and the proportion of incidents certified as suicide, accidents, or open verdicts.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Investigation of potential clustering of incidents near psychiatric facilities and the correlation with station accessibility.

    • Main Results:

    • A rise in the number of people jumping/falling in front of trains has been observed over the past five decades.
    • The proportion of incidents certified as suicide has decreased, while those classified as accidents or open verdicts have increased.
    • Unusual clustering of incidents has been noted at stations located near psychiatric units, suggesting a potential link.

    Conclusions:

    • The study indicates a complex pattern in London Underground train incidents, with decreasing fatality rates but shifting classifications.
    • The accessibility of stations, particularly those near psychiatric services, is hypothesized as a potential determinant in suicide incidents on the London Underground.