News - Texting 999 could become the norm

[HEXUS]

Ofcom keen on pre-registered emergency text service.

Read more.

[vrykyl]

So the emergency services call centre can look forward to thousands of "I HAZ AN EM3RGENCIEZ, LOLZ" messages from the normal array of fools that would normally call them asking the time / reporting lost umbrellas etc??

[TAKTAK]

Who would text in an emergency? D:

I know whenever we've needed emergency services we've called them so that we know when they're on their way and to make sure it gets through, if the system failed how would you know? At least if you ring them, you're speaking to an operator so you know the message has been relayed to them...

Even if the last time we called them we had to do it twice, as no-one had turned up after ~20 minutes and we had someone bleeding out on the floor with a head injury with someone trying to compress the wound and others trying to keep her awake and talking...

[MaddAussie]

I've got this vision of Moss from the IT Crowd emailing the fire brigade.

[watercooled]

Not only that, but have these people ever had to use a phone in an emergency/? Some (most) people panic so much they can't figure out how to take the key lock off their phone, which is why you can dial 999 without doing so, never mind having to type out a text! I can see how it would be useful for someone who can't speak/hear but wouldn't it be better to just give those people a panic button? And even if you call and say nothing, it will be investigated anyway...

[usxhe190]

I think it's a good idea. One more way to communicate between people whatever the reason.

[miniyazz]

Not only that, but have these people ever had to use a phone in an emergency/? Some (most) people panic so much they can't figure out how to take the key lock off their phone, which is why you can dial 999 without doing so, never mind having to type out a text! I can see how it would be useful for someone who can't speak/hear but wouldn't it be better to just give those people a panic button? And even if you call and say nothing, it will be investigated anyway...

Isn't it so anyone can use the phone in an emergency, rather than only the person who knows the keycode?

[pipTheGeek]

Isn't it so anyone can use the phone in an emergency, rather than only the person who knows the keycode?

I thought so. I suppose both are valid reasons though.

I thought the SMS system was like e-mail and was a best effort delivery. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to trust a mobile carrier's best efforts if I thought it was important enough to dial 999.

I can see that it is a useful option for those who might find it difficult to phone though. Maybe the phone companies can priotise the messages and automatically attach a location when the message is delivered?

[watercooled]

That's not what I've been told, and this dates back to phones without keycodes.

Seriously though, until you've experienced panic like that you just don't realize how incapable you can be of doing very simple things. It soon becomes clear why emergency measures are so stupid-simple to use.

[Flibb]

If your sitting at home or in th office it probably wont make any sense, but head out into the countryside where signal strength can be bad and it could prove to be extremly useful. In low signal areas your more likely to get a text away than a call, and with smartphones you can automatically include GPS co-ordinates.

[Hicks12]

its not a bad idea, just simply set up a few generic text messages and suddenly its much quicker than calling... it has its pros and cons but so does calling.

[watercooled]

Oh I'm not knocking the idea, I think it's something that should be in place, just I can't see it getting much use for proper emergencies.

[jim]

Useful for kidnap and hostage situations.

[chrestomanci]

Oh I'm not knocking the idea, I think it's something that should be in place, just I can't see it getting much use for proper emergencies.

Useful for kidnap and hostage situations.

I think you have been watching to much TV.

A much more common scenario will be with people who are deaf (or mute). The intial trial was setup that way where users had to register in advance. The service (and information on how to register) was initaly publiciced mainly in magazenes and websites for the deaf.

A relative of mine who is partly deaf was involved in setting this up after he got into difficulty a couple of years ago. He dialed 999 but could not converse effectively with the emergency services operator. As I was working at Nokia at the time and had an understanding of how GSM networks operatate, I wrote a paper on how the system archetechture would work for relaying an replying to these emergency texts.

Another likey scenario is a normal person in a noisy environment. Suppose you are at a loud rock concert or music festival, and your friend next to you has a bad Asthma attack. It will be imposible to phone 999 as the music will be too loud for anyone to hear you, you probably can't leave the concert quicky enough as the croud will be too dense. What do you do?

[jim]

I think you have been watching to much TV.

I wasn't 100% serious there, I have to admit.

[crossy]

If they restrict this to the speech-impaired, and make it zero cost, then it sounds like a fine idea. On the other hand, if they let anyone use it then, like vrykyl, I'd be worried about the common-sense-challenged spamming it.

One additional problem I see is that there's no reliable way of knowing whether your SMS has been received or not. I've sent texts to my missus (on the same network!) and she's not received them until three or four hours later...

Personally, I'd feel much assured if I was able to talk to someone, rather than casting a text into the ether and hoping. Plus, (cynic mode on), if the current government realises that maybe they could reduce the number of emergency operators (by encouraging an automatically-handled text service instead), then they'll get slashed before you can click your fingers.

Another likey scenario is a normal person in a noisy environment. Suppose you are at a loud rock concert or music festival, and your friend next to you has a bad Asthma attack. It will be imposible to phone 999 as the music will be too loud for anyone to hear you, you probably can't leave the concert quicky enough as the croud will be too dense. What do you do?

Easy, grab a member of the yellow jacket brigade (Rock Steady or whatever) and they've got walky talkies, headphones, etc. Was at a rock concert about six months ago and someone took ill, (collapsed), and the RS folks clustered round, got St Johns Ambulance on the case and then cleared a path to get the poor bloke out of the hall (SECC in Glasgow btw) in pretty short order.