Unintentional Cellular 9-1-1 Calls - Are You Part of The Problem?
If you read the FCC report released December 11, 2002 you will find out that 9-1-1 centers around the United States are concerned about the number of unintentional 9-1-1 calls received from cell phones. In Washington County, approximately 50% of our cellular 9-1-1 calls are unintentional. We hear everything from people singing as they drive down the road, conversations that were not intended for us to hear, and people unloading groceries.
This means that we are tying up a Calltaker for up to two minutes while they attempt to determine if this is a call for help. If you are waiting in line for help with a true emergency, that is a long time to wait.
Please deactivate any 9-1-1 auto-dial feature that might be hidden behind the 9 or 1 buttons. Do not program 9-1-1 into your one button dial feature on your phone or this could be you needlessly tying up 9-1-1 lines. USE YOUR KEY LOCK FUNCTION TO STOP UNINTENTIONAL DIALING. With this feature activated you can still answer incoming calls.
On January 5, 2003, CBS's Sunday Morning ran a story about a group of linguists who get together to rate new phrases that came to life in the past year. One of the phrases being considered for #1 was Dialarrhea: unintentional calls made from cell phones.
More 9-1-1 calls from cell phones.
Don't take your cell phone in the bathroom without the key pad locked
Doesn't know how to use key lock
Kid Singing With Radio This is obviously a "butt or pocket" call. You hear the beeps at the start of the call. This is caused by the movement of the person carrying the phone causing the buttons to be hit. COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE with use of the key lock function.
Questions or comments? lhatch@wccca.com
Last Update: 11/10/2003 12:44 PM