Research reportReconsidering the effects of blue-light installation for prevention of railway suicides
Introduction
Matsubayashi et al. (2013), in a recent preliminary communication, evaluated the calming effect of blue lights installed at the ends of station platforms by a Japanese railway company as a measure to prevent people from jumping into the path of an oncoming train. They suggested that the installation of blue lights reduced suicides by 84% and issued a press release, reporting only the point estimate (84%) without its confidence interval (95% CI: 14–97%), which was covered by Japan's major news media.
To interpret this finding and translate it into practice, it is important to take a descriptive epidemiological viewpoint, accounting for time, place, and person. Blue lights, if effective in suicide prevention, would work only when illuminated at night. Moreover, the lights, as potentially installed at the ends of railway platforms, would work only in their immediate vicinity—i.e., they would not discourage jumping onto the track from the middle of the platform. Therefore, the finding mentioned above could be misleading unless the times and places of the suicides are taken into account. The aim of this rapid communication is to examine railway suicide attempts in terms of time and place to further evaluate the use of blue lights on platforms for suicide prevention.
Section snippets
Methods
We used data on railway suicide attempts for fiscal years 2002–2011 (from April 2002 to March 2012) compiled by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), which were made public pursuant to the Information Disclosure Act. Railway companies are obligated by the Railway Business Act to report all accidents to the MLIT, including suicide attempts, using a uniform format.
We extracted all cases categorized as “suicide attempt” from the data sets. The entries include
Results
Table 1 shows the 5841 reported suicide attempts from April 2002 to March 2012 by time and location. Of these, 43% occurred within station premises, 43% were at night, and 14% fell into both categories. The proportion of nighttime suicide attempts between stations (52%) was greater than that within station premises (32%).
Table 2 shows the 2535 suicide attempts that occurred within station premises. Conservatively assuming that the “unidentified” attempts all occurred at platform ends, a maximum
Discussion
We find that more than half of railway suicide attempts occurred during the day, with many occurring away from station premises. Nighttime suicide attempts within station premises account for only 14% of all railway suicide attempts. Those who entered the track from the platform did not necessarily do so from one of the ends, where the blue lights would potentially have been installed. According to our most conservative estimate, only 28% of suicide attempts within station premises occurred at
Role of funding source
None received.
Conflict of interest
All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgements
We thank Mr Yuichi Sato for providing the data.
References (4)
- et al.
Does the installation of blue lights on train platforms prevent suicide? A before-and-after observational study from Japan
Journal of Affective Disorders
(2013) - Japan Federation of the Blind, 2011. A Questionnaire Survey on Fall Experiences. Available at:...
Cited by (14)
The situational conditions of suicide in transit environments: An analysis using CCTV footage
2021, Journal of Transport and HealthCitation Excerpt :Moreover, lighting has been internationally linked to fewer suicides but we still do not know the mechanisms that explain this relationship (Matsubayashi et al., 2013). One has linked blue lighting with “a calming effect” in people, but that effect does not seem to be as great as one had first expected (Ichikawa et al., 2014). So far, it is unclear how light (type, intensity and location) affects those individuals who spend time at platforms.
The role of seasonality and photoperiod on the lethality of suicide attempts: A case-control study
2019, Journal of Affective DisordersCitation Excerpt :In particular, the disruption in the functioning of the 5-HT system links affective disorders, anxiety, seasonal admissions with mania and violence and/or impulsive behaviors like sexual abuse, aggression, homicide and obviously suicide (Marazziti et al., 2013; White et al., 2015; Brewerton et al., 2018). Recently, the use of blue light hotspots in railway platforms to decrease the incidence of railway suicides has been investigated and contrasting evidence have been reported (Matsubayashi et al., 2013; Ichikawa et al., 2014; Matsubayashi et al., 2014). For instance, Matsubayashi et al. (2013) indicated that suicide deaths decreased significantly by 84% across the eleven Japanese stations where blue lights were installed.
Suicides in commuting railway systems: The case of Stockholm county, Sweden
2016, Journal of Affective DisordersCitation Excerpt :Drainage pits by the platforms provide a space between the train and the platform that may reduce mortality when a person falls or jumps onto the tracks (Coats and Walter, 1999). Matsubayashi et al. (2013) initially suggested that the installation of blue lights prevented railway suicides, but that was later reassessed by Ichikawaa et al. (2014), who indicated that even if blue lights have some effect preventing railway suicides at night, their effect is much smaller than previously estimated. Certain parts of the city have higher concentrations of suicide (Fig. 1b).
A systematic review of the literature on safety measures to prevent railway suicides and trespassing accidents
2015, Accident Analysis and PreventionCitation Excerpt :The installation of ‘calming’ blue light at station platforms and crossings is a new and intriguing measure that has only been examined in one location. An initial study from Japan (Matsubayashi et al., 2013) reported that blue light reduced railway suicide with 84%, but a follow-up study by Ichikawa et al. (2014) criticises this result and argues that it is severely overestimated (see Table 5 for details). As Too et al. (2014) point out the longer-term effect of this measure, the underlying causal mechanism of why this is effective and substitution effect to other stations and other suicide methods over time should be evaluated.
Does the installation of blue Lights on train platforms shift suicide to another station?: Evidence from Japan
2014, Journal of Affective DisordersCitation Excerpt :They are expected to stop people at train platforms from jumping in front of trains at night, not during the daytime. In fact, as suggested by Ichikawa et al. (2014), suicide attempts at station platforms during the nighttime account for only 14% of all railway suicide attempts. Thus, the installation of blue lights may contribute to suicide reduction, but it is not necessarily be the ultimate solution to the problem.
Conceptualising innovative lighting interventions for suicide, trespass and risky behaviour on the railway
2023, Lighting Research and Technology