Why do so many expats fall off their balconies in Thailand?

[Lingba]

why do they fall??...you mean why are they pushed

[Call]

Mandatory safety nets or just lock the doors to balconies. Problem solved.

[Pdavies99]

Money and love are the main causes I think.

 

But I will admit that I suffer from vertigo, I could never get near a balcony rail, I get dizzy almost immediately!

[garyk]

16 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I have to agree.  In California the Golden Gate Bridge is a favorite place for those people who want to go in a spectacular 200' drop to the cement like top of the water.  It is also the number one place for suicides in the world. Those that do not die instantly are turned in basically a bag of jelly as all of their bones are broken.  I worked as a LEO covering the Bridge back in the late 90's and we had Suicides and then many attempted suicides where our folks or the hostage negotiators from SFPD would do the best to talk them back over the rail.....

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19797444/

I would bet 99% of the ones flying off the Golden Gate Bridge were locals?  Or citizens of the US. 

In Thailand it is tourists and expats mostly. A huge difference IMO.

Edited February 22, 2022 by garyk

[Dumbfounded]

18 hours ago, Chris.B said:

The key word here is "fall" or "jump"?

 

I don't think many do fall, I think most jump. I also think most jump because they have run out of money.

 

PS. In the UK I believe balcony heights are 1.1 m.

 

 

you left out pushed ????

[NeoDinosaw]

18 hours ago, Albert Zweistein said:

Could it have something to do with alcohol ? Perhaps ?

I suspect that consumption of too much alcohol is a major factor here, irrespective of whether they jumped, fell or were pushed.

 

Higher rails around balconies are long overdue

[TonyFromItaly]

Next time I'll book a room at the ground floor...
 

[Hanuman2547]

Pushed, jumped, accidentally fell, the possibilities are many.  First off, all railings should be 1.2m high.  That would solve a lot of problems.  Won't stop a determined jumper though. 

[odanny]

16 hours ago, Sunnny said:

 What makes me sceptic about the suicide versions (in many of the cases) is that I personally would never choose this way to end my life. It is the most terrifying and disgusting one. Shooting oneself, self poisoning or self drowning… many less painful and more esthetic options out there…

You don't know any of that. It's true that impulsive people often jump to their deaths, no planning, no chickening out, just over the side you go. I know people who went off a bridge in the dead of winter.  

[Tropposurfer]

The issue of having the catastrophic results of the ground break ones fall after leaving a balcony usually prevents anyone from asking the fallee if they meant to fall, were drunk, slipped or tripped lurching forward or backwards, or pushed.

Sadly due to the sudden stopping and oft fatal result of said stopping the true reasonings leading up to the fall and sudden stopping is often impossible to confirm.

The minimum height of such barriers in Aussie is a height anything over 1.000 mm when the landing on which the balustrade is attached is more than 1 metre from the ground.

In high rise building the balustrades are often quite a bit higher (I've seen then at 1150 and 1200 in some instances which prevents anyone but perhaps an NBA giant from toppling accidentally.

I have heard that when falling from heights the brain shuts down because the knowing of what is to come overloads the senses. I hope I never find myself in a predicament which necessitates me have to test out this hypothesis.

Edited February 23, 2022 by Tropposurfer

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, Pdavies99 said:

Money and love are the main causes I think.

 

But I will admit that I suffer from vertigo, I could never get near a balcony rail, I get dizzy almost immediately!

For Brits in the Med it was trying to climb into their room or a mates room via the balcony carrying a gallon of Stella in their stomachs. In Thailand we have had many comments about low balcony railings,,, new buildings are making them higher, but plenty of old ones retain lower ones. Having them ordered raised was talked of decades ago here....  probably forgotten like dealing with the Jetski scammers was.

[elgenon]

I think some are because the police are willing to report it as a fall. Case closed. 

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, elgenon said:

I think some are because the police are willing to report it as a fall. Case closed. 

You see what you want to see, case closed

[Postmaster]

Chris B   Remember Robert Maxwell of Daily Mirror fame, Ghislane's father ?

" Did he Jump, did he Fall, was he Pushed ?" From the Ghislane Yacht.  The answer will never be known.

[Danderman123]

21 hours ago, Thunglom said:

Can you explain that a bit more - I don't follow the logic.

 

If people were falling off balconies due to drunkenness, why don't they fall from the second floor, or the 3rd floor, why is it always a high floor? 

 

Same with the railings. Why are they high enough on the low floors? 

[Danderman123]

16 hours ago, thecyclist said:

But what if you change your mind on the way down? Really high buildings it can take a while to get to your final destination.(you could of course carry a parachute just in case) If you jump from a lower floor you might survive and spend the rest of your life paralyzed or in chronic pain. Shoot yourself in the head is superfast. Poisoning and slashing your wrist, you can call an ambulance if you feel like you have made a mistake.With my extreme fear of heights, jumping would be my last option.More afraid of heights than of death. So I would rather die than jump. 

It sounds like you have given this some thought. 

[billmichael]

Is it perhaps they were recently married to a local...???

[sanuk711]

[thecyclist]

3 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

It sounds like you have given this some thought. 

555. Yeah. I also give serial killers a lot of thought. Fascinated by the Zodiac,Ted Bundy etc. Doesn't mean I will become one myself. 

[NotReallyHere]

On 2/22/2022 at 9:53 AM, Sunnny said:

 What makes me sceptic about the suicide versions (in many of the cases) is that I personally would never choose this way to end my life. It is the most terrifying and disgusting one. Shooting oneself, self poisoning or self drowning… many less painful and more esthetic options out there…

"...less painful..."?  Are you sure?

 

An object dropped from a height accelerates at a rate of 9.8 meters/second.  Two seconds is 19.6 m/s.  19.6 meters/second = 70.56 kilometers per hour or 43.84 miles/hour.  For perspective, the fastest professional boxing punches can be approximately 32 miles/hour.  Many will jump from heights that require more than 2 seconds until impact (any balcony higher than 20 meters).  Hitting the hard unforgiving pavement is a knockout punch to the entire body.

 

Trust me, they will not feel a thing...

 

Poisoning and drowning (how long can you hold your breath?) can be truly horrible and slow.  You really haven't thought this through, which is probably a good thing...

[Del B]

There has to be videos of some of these, cameras are everywhere nowadays, or just not in that specific area where the person jumped or got some help.  Approximately 800,000 people die from suicide annually. 

 

 

[Del B]

On 2/22/2022 at 5:44 PM, NeoDinosaw said:

I suspect that consumption of too much alcohol is a major factor here, irrespective of whether they jumped, fell or were pushed.

 

Higher rails around balconies are long overdue

I enjoy my view on the balcony, This will not stop suicides.  We are always making policies or changes for something is out of our control.  Now they are making security rules for traveling that have nothing to do with covid.  People will have to ask permission to leave their hotel and state all their intentions. 

[MyFriend You]

On 2/22/2022 at 2:28 AM, Call said:

Mandatory safety nets or just lock the doors to balconies. Problem solved.

This is a hotel in Waikiki, they put up this net after a few tourists jumped off the roof, the hotel faces the beach, pacific ocean, and a Statue of the Prince.  I wouldn't volunteer to test it though  ????????????????

[KKr]

On 2/22/2022 at 6:56 AM, bbko said:

If we had decent follow up reporting news services, they would investigate and report back (drunk, money problems, mental issues, relationship troubles, etc), instead we get half a story which leads to many board member's favorite pastime; speculations, conspiracy theories, innuendos, baseless assumptions, etc.

also, one would expect a comparison to statistics in home countries, thus relaying an informed opinion rather that a click bait with no journalistic value.