Golden Gate Bridge Safety Net Credited with Reducing Suicides

Suicide survivor Kevin Hines praises the impact of the new safety barrier installed in 2024.

Jan. 29, 2026 at 7:55pm by Ben Kaplan

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The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has seen a significant drop in suicides since the installation of a new safety net in 2024. Suicide survivor and motivational speaker Kevin Hines, who jumped from the bridge in 2000, is applauding the net for saving lives and giving people in crisis another option besides taking their own life.

Why it matters

Suicide is a major public health issue, with the Golden Gate Bridge being one of the most common sites for suicide attempts in the United States. The new safety net demonstrates how physical barriers can help reduce access to lethal means and lower suicide rates in a specific location.

The details

Crews finished installing the safety net at the Golden Gate Bridge in 2024. That year, authorities recorded only 8 suicides, down from around 30 per year previously. In 2025, the number dropped further to just 4 suicides. Bridge officials also reported going 7 straight months without observing a single suicide attempt.

  • The safety net was installed at the Golden Gate Bridge in 2024.
  • In 2024, the number of suicides dropped to 8, down from around 30 per year previously.
  • In 2025, the number of suicides dropped further to just 4.
  • Bridge officials reported going 7 straight months without observing a suicide attempt.

The players

Kevin Hines

A suicide survivor and motivational speaker who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000 but survived.

Golden Gate Bridge Authority

The organization responsible for the bridge and its safety measures.

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What they’re saying

“When you reduce access to lethal means, when you take away the opportunity, this is what happens. Suicides drop in that area, they drop in the metropolitan county around that area, because you show people that you care.”

— Kevin Hines, Suicide Survivor and Motivational Speaker (San Francisco Chronicle)

“When you show people who feel valueless, hopeless, that they have value, when you show them there is another option besides suicide, A: they don't take their life and B: they get the help they need.”

— Kevin Hines, Suicide Survivor and Motivational Speaker (San Francisco Chronicle)

What’s next

Bridge officials plan to continue monitoring the impact of the safety net and explore ways to further enhance suicide prevention efforts at the Golden Gate Bridge.

The takeaway

The dramatic reduction in suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge since the installation of the safety net demonstrates the life-saving potential of physical barriers and other means-restriction strategies in suicide prevention. This approach could serve as a model for other high-risk locations around the country.