There’s great security in knowing that in the middle of a terrible emergency, if you can just make it to your phone and punch in 911, dispatchers can do the rest.
That security is padded by the common use of cell phones. Your car breaks down on the freeway, no problem. Call for help. Get lost while hiking, no problem. Call for help. Choke on your dinner — whoa, problem. Call 911, but there’s no guarantee the dispatcher will be able to figure out where you are to send help.
Until a new system kicks in that helps dispatchers trace a cell phone caller’s location using mapping technology, cell phone lovers shouldn’t be so quick to toss the land line.
Cell phone users recently started paying the same small tax that land-line users pay for enhanced 911 — 70 cents a month. Most of that goes to the user’s county wireless 911 system and a small part is the state wireless 911 tax, which helps smaller areas that don’t have a big enough cell-phone tax base to support their own system.
A streamlined and equal system is critical. Fortunately, the Federal Communication Commission is requiring mapping technology to be available everywhere by the end of 2005. Snohomish County should be ready to go this year, possibly by September. The system allows dispatchers to pinpoint the longitude and latitude of the caller’s location. From there, they can pretty much figure out where to send emergency crews.
It’s good to see officials reacting quickly and thoroughly. But the new system won’t be a cure-all. Cell phones can still cut out during a call, as many know. And they’re just as vulnerable to service disruption and busy signals during major disasters such as earthquakes.
With our society as mobile as it is people are spending more and more time on the go than at the ranch, and the possibility of emergencies occurring away from home is significant. While officials and technology gurus are busy updating such services, it’s up to the rest of us to be as safe as possible. That means not depending on a cell phone exclusively to keep you safe. You still need to know the roads you’re driving on, keep the emergency kits in the trunk when you’re traveling and pack the compass and change of clothes when you go hiking.
The latest phones might come equipped with positioning systems, mini computers and cameras — and that’s just for starters — but they’re no replacement for common sense and preparedness.
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