' Is it right to call 999 over mattress in the road?' blog discussion

beaker141

It would help if there was a national non emergency number that routed you to the local switchboard - I see some mentioning 101 - is that such a number ?

Gizasmum

You definitely did the right thing Martin. It was a danger to all motorists using that stretch.

If you ever get caught out on the A9/ M90 that runs from near Edinburgh Airport to Thurso, its laybys have numbers on their signs. So if you break down or have an accident you just need to give AA/ Police the nearest layby number as your location

grahamm

beaker141 wrote: »

It would help if there was a national non emergency number that routed you to the local switchboard - I see some mentioning 101 - is that such a number ?

101 is a non-emergency number that is in use, but only in some parts of the country (Wales, Hampshire and IOW and Sheffield), however in the circumstances that Martin describes 999 was appropriate.

floart

i called 999 a couple of years ago when a huge rug fell off a van on the a road near me, and people were swerving round it at 70mph + ... i was a bit embarrassed and very apologetic, but the person who took the call said it was the right thing to do and that someone would be sent out straight away

funnily enough a few years previously i also saw a sofa fly off the back of a pickup in front of me on a big freeway in america... no time to call any emergency services, i swerved round, the next few people were not so lucky...

if you don't call 999 when something lands in a busy fast road, someone could have a serious accident so it is definitely an emergency

Etherelda

I rang 999 when I had to swerve for a very large broom in the middle of the M11 near Cambridge once.

I rang 999, message taken quickly, all sorted. Then police reported it on the local BBC travel bulletin, and to top it all off, the police rang me back an hour later to thank me for reporting it.

Fantastic service from Cambridgeshire police!

Paul_Varjak

Etherelda wrote: »

I rang 999 when I had to swerve for a very large broom in the middle of the M11 near Cambridge once.

I rang 999, message taken quickly, all sorted. Then police reported it on the local BBC travel bulletin, and to top it all off, the police rang me back an hour later to thank me for reporting it.

Fantastic service from Cambridgeshire police!

Many years ago I called Cambridgeshire Police on 999 when someone was attempting to break into my house. The Police took over 24 hours to arrive! As that same person had made death threats against me just days before (also reported to the Police) I immediately relocated more than 150 miles away.

That person then hired a private detective to track me down, the private detective got suspicious and reported him to the Police. The Humberside Police arrived at my home to warn me that he had traced me. Eventually, he was was give a 9 month jail sentence for fraud based on the information I provided.

vikingaero

I've called Kent Police on a number of occasions for motorway incidents. Rather than calling 999, I have the main Kent Police number stored in my phone and ask to be put through to the Motorway Control Centre.

GentleGiant_2

Always call 999 when you feel that a situation needs urgent police attention to avert a potential loss of life.

Drunk drivers come under this category for example.

Butti

You made the right call. Just ask yourself how you would have felt if you hadn't rang and had heard a scooter or motorcyclist had died on that section of road due to the obstruction.

B

Pinkypants

999 is exactly the right number to ring in my book. Imminent threat to life in my book. I would class that as an emergency.

What the police do with the information is then up to them.

Different story if it was a 30 mph road just sticking out a bit.