You better wake up and smell the real flavor
Cause 911 is a fake life saver:
Throughout the history of 911, problems with 911 have been belligerence of operators, operator skepticism of reporting parties and repeat pranksters, unclear calls without precise locations, various policies on 911 hang-ups, an over-burdening and overwhelming of the system, and general burn-out of operators remaining on the job. As I mentioned in my last piece, some 911 operators have even been found asleep at the console. For many citizens, a placed 911 call simply goes unanswered or is met with a busy signal.
911 is merely a backup, as far as I’m concerned. One should be prepared to deal with things without them but should also be secure in the knowledge that help is on the way. Be prepared because 5 or 10 or 15 minutes of waiting for the cavalry is a lifetime if you happen to be fighting for your life. As evidenced by the examples above, don’t rely on them but use them.
My personal opinion is that the purpose of 911 is to send over some guys to do paperwork and recommend a good carpet cleaner.
November 20th, 2006 at 11:08 am
911? No. 1911.
November 20th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
911 – Sends the cleanup crew. That’s it.
November 20th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
Jay beat me to it.
1911 first.
911 second.
November 20th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
After being involved in a ‘fender bender’ in Farragut earlier this year I called 911 on my cell and got a recording: “Your call is very important to us, please remain on the line and the next available operator will be right with you.”.
I couldn’t believe it. I hung up called right back and got the same recording. This time I hung on until a live person answered and handled my minor emergency.
I told this story later that day to a lady I work with who’s daughter in law is a 911 supervisor. She didn’t believe me so she called the daughter in law (DIL) who confirmed the story. DIL said that every now and then they got too many calls to answer immediately so instead of just letting the phone ring they have a recording that picks it up.
DIL also said if you hang up after getting the recording and call back that takes them even more time to deal with because they call back hang up calls first before answering the next incoming call.
Moral of that story; be calm, be patient, and be prepared to deal with an immediate emergency situation yourself because the calvary is not always instantly available.