Solution
The amount of railway related accidents has increased since 2005. The aim of this section is to propose plausible legislation that addresses the issue of suicide prevention and reckless behavior. This will be done through the evaluation of the proposed programs by Brightline. Furthermore, I will explain the Suicide Prevention and Public Safety Act (SPPSA).
Suicide Hotlines
Brightline's attempts to address suicide prevention includes a partnership with 211 Helpline. This is a hotline that connects people to the services that they need. Currently, Florida's House of Representatives has an appropriations bill that will allocate $650,000 to this hotline. Since Florida's House of Representatives deems this helpline an effective way of addressing suicide prevention it is important to evaluate what they do and how well they respond to this issue.
The 211 Helpline connects people to various call centers based on the resources that they seek. The 211 Helpline has connections to the National Suicide Hotline. This bill specifically mentions suicide prevention and substance abuse. The 211 Helpline connects people to qualified individuals that exist to help people are going through a certain issue. This hotline is for people that seek more information about suicide or substance abuse but it is mainly for experiencing these issues.
Brightline's partnership with Operation Lifesaver (OPL) entails increased signage such as infographics, brochures, and posters. Operation Lifesaver a non-profit organization the focuses on railway safety and suicide awareness. Brightline should utilize more of Operation Lifesaver's resources such as having free informational sessions and airing their PSAs in terminals.
Brightline as a company should adopt approach to suicide prevention and reckless behavior.
The Suicide Prevention and Public Safety Act includes three approaches: community awareness, increased surveillance, additional safety infrastructure.
Community Awareness
Suicide becomes a difficult issue to address when it is not commonly spoken about. A common myth is that suicide is triggered by one event. Informing people about how to talk to people that are struggling with suicidal thoughts or actions. To begin, it is important to raise awareness of this issue.
I. Signage, Hotlines, Advertisements
Increasing the amount of signage is a method that Brightline currently employs but should be expanded upon. Placing signs in terminals and on monitors within stations would also help people become more informed about suicide prevention.
Signage would also include signs that clearly display the fines for trying to "beat the train". Furthermore, fatalities as a result reckless behavior can be avoided. By increasing fines for reckless behavior, people will consider the consequences of these actions.
Signage has also been used for CalTrain. CalTrain has shown a decline from railway suicides from 15 deaths in 2009 to 11 deaths in the following year. By posting 250 signs around the railway stations with clearly displayed phone numbers to suicide hotlines. Additionally, it is important to post signage around public telephones and in the community surrounding the tracks. These are essential to increase community awareness of suicide prevention.
Figure 1
Figure 2
The Toronto Transit Commission has also shown a drastic decline by 46% of railway suicide since it's the installation of its Crisis Link Program. Crisis Link places posters on platforms that state "Thinking of suicide? There is help. Let's Talk about it." (Figure One). Moreover, there are public telephones with a button that directly connects people to a suicide hotline (Figure Two). Brightline should implement programs similar to this to expand upon its efforts to address suicide prevention. Brightline has made efforts to address suicide prevention but they are not as extensive as they should be.
II. Operation LifeSafer
Brightline's Partnership with Operation Lifesaver has included increasing public knowledge of railway safety through informational posters. The collaboration between Operation Lifesaver and Brightline should be broadened. Operation Lifesaver holds free informational sessions about railway safety. Providing these free informational sessions in train stations will promote appropriate conduct around railways. Furthermore, OPL should train Brightline personnel to know how to address and engage passengers with suicidal thoughts or intentions and the inebriated (to avoid reckless behavior).
III. Informing Community
Railway suicides have an effect on the surrounding community. How can community members address a problem that they don't know about? Communities surrounding railroads should be informed about how to communicate with people experiencing suicidal thoughts. Providing surrounding communities with programs that directly address the issue of suicide such as holding group therapy sessions and free informational sessions about suicide. A well-informed community will be better suited to comforting the issue of suicide.
Increased Surveillance
Brightline is working with law enforcement to surveil their railroad tracks. These members of law enforcement should receive additional training such as ethics training and suicide prevention training to reduce the chance of brutality. This only partially addresses the issue that Brightline is facing. What is needed is Railroad police stations along Brightline's railroads. "Railroad Police are Florida law enforcement officers that have the authority to arrest individuals and investigate" according to Union Pacific. Railroad Police in the state of Florida only receive a background check before hiring railroad police according to Terry Baker who is currently training and research manager for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Interviews should be held to have a better understanding of who is being hired. It is important to have officers that can engage with people experiencing suicidal thoughts to prevent suicidal actions. Moreover, railroad police should also receive ethics and suicide prevention training.
Additional Infrastructure
Figure 3: Platform screen doors in Spain
Barriers circumvent the plans of the suicidal. Barriers and fencing around railways are practices that have been used to counteract reckless behavior and suicidal actions. Barriers keep travelers safe by preventing people from falling onto the tracks. In other countries, the installation of barriers has led to the reduction of suicide and other railway-related accidents. More specifically in Spain, platform screen doors that act as a barrier that extends from the ceiling to the station floor. This would prevent items from falling into the gap, regulate the temperature on platforms, and prevent people from committing suicide. Brightline should install fencing as another method of prevention. Fencing commonly used for outdoor platforms, which would be better suited for Brightline’s outdoor platforms.
Figure 4: Fencing
Concluding Remarks
Every person that struggles with suicidal thoughts or actions differs. A narrow approach cannot lead to widespread prevention. This issue needs to be approached from many different angles to foster change. In this brief, we have discussed the Brightline's need for more approaches to suicide prevention. Methods such as increasing community awareness of suicide and starting a conversation about this topic will contribute to suicide prevention. Communities cannot confront an unknown enemy. Conservation will lead to identifying this enemy. Signs and posters within local communities can be the first line of defense against this issue. It’s important to acknowledge that communities should support each other through simply having a conversation. A willingness to listen coupled with connecting people to the resources available can combat suicidal thoughts. The installation of telephones with direct connections to a suicide hotline is another idea that was discussed. Using methods such as these let people know that they have options. Suicide Hotlines aim to let people know that they are not alone. They serve the purpose to acknowledge that what one is going through is hard but there are ways to get through it. They connect them to the resources that they need to get through this. Moreover, Brightline should expand upon the resources that they currently provide such as Operation Lifesaver. Operation Lifesaver should expand its free informational sessions to local communities and to Brightline Passengers. This would also include training Brightline Personnel to address suicide prevention. Surveillance of platforms and railroad crossings is another approach that Brightline should take to address suicide. Additional infrastructure such as barriers and fencing should be used to prevent suicidal actions and reckless behavior. Suicide and the reasoning behind are theorized but not known. Therefore, there is a need for further research on this topic to know what specific methods work. Adopting this multi-faceted approach will help reduce the number of deaths associated with the Brightline.
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