911 Text Messaging

QUOTE(miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG @ May 3 2006, 07:53 AM) However it'd be good to have some Alarm buttons on your mobile that sends immediate pre-set messages to 911. Say you're about to be mugged or held up at gun-point, you can alert the authorities at the press of a button and then 911 should be able to more or less pin-point your location based on the network cell you're in.. at least upto a certain degree of proximity. Then the rest is upto the cops to rush down and try to locate you. One bad thing about that is if someone presses it by accident, or a mate thinks it's funny to set it off and blame you

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Yeah, this also crossed my mind when I read this thread. Think about how bad you might feel if the button was just accidently pressed in your pocket one day and a whole police squad came "to your rescue".

God, I can just imagine the hordes of text messages saying, "i am bing muged rescu me".
Seriously though, this is a bad idea, I think. Well, actually, there's no real good solution to these things... so we should be working to eliminate crime, etc...
Actually, now that I think about it, how do mute people alert 911?

 

 

 

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Maybe they have some sort of panic button they can press...one for each kind of emergency? I really don't know...

I think text messaging for emergency services of course it has its cons in relating location but i somehow think that we're underestimating the police by requiring the phone to have GPS signals. I believe they can narrow it down to quite a small area without the GPS system.

Just did a google search on it and take a read of this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4738219.stm.

It's definitely out there and as you know how thing goes, probably more advanced than they usually disclose.

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Ok... to make it clear:

I can dial 9-1-1 and talk to a real person and have emergency services dispached by the time you even finish typing your txt msg... don't forget, EMS usually want to be 100% correct... you'd have to wait for them to txt you back and then before you know it, you've got $20 in emergency txt msg charges..

I'll stick with the phone calls...

[N]F

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I don't know when i would ever use text messaging 911 calls in an emergency because i would not have the TIME. Can you imagin typing "My house is on fire. My dog is inside. My address is 1111 david st" dont think so, or at least not within a timely fashion.

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But texting is fidgety, and if your in a rush and scared you can end up sending an odd text that takes ages to be read at the 911/999 sorting office and callcentre.

We have something in England where you text when you're going out if you are a teenager, and you text this number, that's anonymous but associates your numbeer with name, so you text, "where", and "when", so if you get in trouble and your Parents need to find you, they just ring the police who check the line, which makes enquiries a lot faster dealt with.

It gives Teenager freedom, with safety and security which I think is quite an ingenious idea, I doubt I would of thought of it myself.

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It is a good idea. And as mentioned by other people, it has already been implemented in some countries. It is exceptionally useful when you are not in a position to talk. Maybe in a kidnap/hostage situation or when you are severely injured that you can only muster enough strength to press the unlock combination on your phone and a button to send an emergency sms before you pass out. Unfortunately, I think the sms service reliability could be an issue. If i'm not mistaken, sms deliveries are not guaranteed to be delivered when you press the send button. There could be some delay, something like that.

As for locating where is the person, it can actually be done. I'm not talking about theoretical stuff but actual working product. There is a service from my telco that lets you find where your friend is. Of course, he/she would have to grant you the permission first. I think it has something to do with traingulation of the mobile phone signal, something like that.

Ok, after reading and posting here, think it's about time to go see how I can configure my mobile phone to send an emergency sms with the press of a button. I know there is speed dialing, so it might be possible for speed messaging???

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I think it would be useful.For instance, if you were being kidnapped you could text 911 for help without the criminal knowing what you are doing...just a quick thought!

-Kelly clarkson

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911 Text Messaging
911 Text Messaging

I just woke up from a nightmare where I was on my cell with my friend and told her I just saw 2 weird guys walking through my grandma's neighborhood. She told me to be careful because there is a set of 2 guys that has been raping/killing people.

I told her I wasn't worried about those 2 because they were getting in a car to leave, then we hung up. When I went to my grandma's backyard, I saw through to the neighbors backyard because there are no fences and the 2 guys had a guy at gunpoint, they could see me and I already had my cell phone in my hand, I thought about texting 911 as they would see if I called 911 and put it to my ear to try tell the operator to send help.

But then in my dream I realized I didn't know if you could really text message 911. I googled it and obviously other people have already had the same thought.

So...I do think it would be a good idea if you were in a situation where you needed help or someone else needed help and you didn't want to put yourself or that person at more risk than they already were.

Lets say you are upstairs in your house, you hear glass shatter downstairs, I personally wouldn't want to call 911 because I wouldn't want the burglar to hear my voice and find where I'm hiding and the operators want you to stay on the line until they get there.

But I do agree that the emergency button that sends an already generated message that sends your GPS location would probably be the best idea. My cell phone has the emergency button that automatically dials 911, so it just seems like one more thing they could add.

-Pricilla

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Haha, I just thought of this and looked it up and saw all this here. That's cool. I think texting 911 is a good option to have available because if you're, say, in your house and a burglar comes in, but doesn't know you're there, how are you going to talk on the phone without them knowing? It's alot safer and quieter to text 911. I just think there should try to be some precautions that are implemented to make sure it works and isn't just a waste of time...

-reply by Emmalee

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