Falling into the Subway

You're in a subway, waiting for that train to come. Suddenly you think, it would be so easy to take just one small step and fall right in front of an oncoming train. Either that, or a little push - accidental or on purpose. I know I have. Well the NYTimes is running an article on just this topic. Quite interesting. It's from a study out of one hospital, finding that:

"We found that the number of subway injuries does correlate with the unemployment rate and the homeless rate in the city," Dr. Guth said.

and that

the highest number of cases occurred in 1992, when unemployment in the city peaked at around 11 percent

It even mentions Hong Kong, where the subway was used often for suicide, although it doesn't mention that Hong Kong has subsequently added doors to the metro platforms to prevent access to the tracks before trains arrive.