One jumper reportedly left a note on the bridge reading, “Why do you make it so easy?”

The net is intended to make people rethink their decision.

“There’s pretty universal agreement that if we know that people are going to try and kill themselves by jumping off a specific bridge, then it’s ethical, reasonable, and clinically wise to put up a netting and prevent those suicides because some percentage of folks who are deterred are never going to try and kill themselves again,” Nock said.

A UC Berkeley researcher in the 1970s followed people after they had been stopped on the bridge during a suicide attempt, publishing the findings in a landmark study (PDF). The vast majority of people did not go on to die by suicide somewhere else, even years later.

“For some people, suicide is impulsive,” Nock said. “If they’re stopped from making a suicide, they may never make a suicide attempt again.”

A memorial to suicides with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. — A memorial for those who have died on the Golden Gate Bridge covers a fence at Fort Point in San Francisco on Jan. 8, 2024.

Kay James wished a net would have deterred her son Michael. She has talked to people who survived suicide attempts at the Golden Gate. They told her they regretted their decision the minute they let go of the guardrail.

“That’s really hard for me because I think, ‘If only he would have had a second chance.’ And, of course, with a net, you definitely have a second chance.”

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

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One Mother's Struggle to Prevent Suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge