Re: Cell phone GPS and E911

mah wrote:

Richard Owlett wrote:


In some areas it is appropriate to dial 911 [LOCAL emergency dispatch].
In other areas one should dial *55 [Highway Patrol / State Police]

How would phone decide whether or not to reveal your location?
Does it reveal same if *AND only if* you dialed digits "911"?
Does it reveal same if answering system provides appropriate key?
If other???????????????????


Interesting - I thought 911 was finally a universal number. In our area
dialing 911 on a cell routes it to the communications center closest to
the cell being used.

[snip informative description of development of locating cell phone]

911 is *a* universal number in the sense that your call will be routed to the "nearest" emergency call center. Here in the Ozark Mountains "nearest" may not correlate to distance "as crow flies" or to correct jurisdiction.

In some cases dialing 911 will route you to Highway Patrol/State Police [presumably for those areas which do not 911 Call Centers]. Although I do know of one instance that dialing 911 got me to Sheriff's department although 911 was not yet implemented for landline users -- had seen headline in local paper about a funding fight to establish the call center.

In some areas it's the Highway Patrol/State Police which have the primary patrol responsibility. *55 gets you to the correct authority directly. The other areas, *55 can get you help faster when tower that picks up your call is one or more counties away.


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