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

Degenerate

I can't believe anyone would question the need for 999 in these circumstances, it's so obvious.

starlight_xx

FiFi_Mad_Mum wrote: »

I once called 999 to let them know that someone was walking up the middle of Great Western Road (Glasgow to Balloch) at a dark part of the road and I got asked why I was calling 999! I can only presume they thought I meant the grass verge but what I actually meant was the lunatic was following the white line that divides the lanes and walking toward the traffic, I ended up apologising that I was on my mobile! I have since put all the local stations into my phone but the last time I called my local number, I got put through to a central call centre.

FiFi

If youre in the Strathclyde area you only need to have one number remembered/stored. All calls no matter what office number you call, go to a centralised call centre. So long as you know one number you can call it from anywhere in strathclyde.

photome

Yes it was right

spiro

If you are on a motorway, call the Highways Agency on 01213358300 and they will send out a patrol to sort it out. Ideally you need to know motorway, direction, between junctions x & y and if there is one a mileage marker.

They also deal with accidents that are off the carriageway and therefore on the hard shoulder.

yorkshireman99_2

Absolutely yes, I discussed a similar incident with the Hampshire traffic police a few years ago and they confirmed that a 999 cal was correct

rickbonar

Well in this case I think you are justified as it was an imminent danger.

However I have some sympathy for other 999 callers for this reason... I have called in the past my local or now 0845 police number and have been unable to get through for 20 minutes or so. The crime or perceived crime would have been committed and too late to do anything.

Again some stories I could tell you about the standard numbers... they simply don't answer or put you off or on hold. So what are you supposed to do?... phoning 999 maybe the only way to get a response. But again more real life stories from members here could certainly open a few eyes to the modern day 999 keystone cops.

On Police in general... though a few from personal..

I have a real personal accounts of a neighbourhood watch police nightmare, ie. a 60 year old woman that was the local neighbourhood watch organiser who found herself arrested and interrogated simply because she was noting down car details of dumped cars and logging neighbour complaints of robberys & thefts and so on.
You can guess .. yes she resigned afterwards... I wonder why?


Also a story of a robbery in progress on a saturday evening at 9:30 pm the person that made the 999 call and although a police station is only 2 blocks away took them over 3/4 of an hour to arrive (of course by then the robbers were long gone) the attitude of the male police telephone receptionist was bad too: telling the caller "people seem to think no one else has called about this" The report in the local paper some days afterwards noted the car used to commit the crime was dumped locally and the robbers never found.

Actual robbery of an elderly woman in her home who phoned 999 that was made on a friday night and it took until monday for the emergency 999 police to arrive!

Another case of a burglarly in progress of a vicars house where the caller was asked by the police "well what do you want us to do about it"?

Yet they're always appealing to the public via tv ads and so on.

Another case of a child shot at and hit by an air rifle and it took them over 3 hours to show up.

Case of an elderly 80 year old whom wasn't answering the door and was thought to be ill, injured or dead the police the ambulance were but needed the police to get into the ladies house.. so 999 were called on both accounts.. the police said they would be up asap 20 minutes later nothing... another call ... another 15 minutes nothing.... another 999 call this time shouting the phone to the ambulance to come which to their credit and were superb. however good old plod never did show... the reason in end after complaining to them was .... "we had an incident in the town" ...

That one I called myself....!
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Sadly it leaves only one conclusion... if you are being attacked or in danger then you have to call the emergency 999 number and when the operator asks you which service you need .... make dammed sure you ask for the Fire brigade!

DorsetBV

Adding to the general consensus of righteousness, I was driving home down the A303 a few years ago and spotted some chains in the middle of the road (I assume they had come off some truck and had been used for load securing - even more worrying). Being a biker, I knew this was going to be a potential danger to motorcycles but I must admit, I also pondered over ringing 999. I stopped at the next layby and rang 999, apologised for using the emergency number but explained the situation. I was told by the operator that I had done exactly the right thing and that a police car would be dispatched to the site immediately.

djl

Yes Martin I would say you did the right thing, it could have caused a crash, so I say well done to you

kevanf1

I'm going to go off on a tangent with this one

Can you imagine what would have happened, if, instead of calling 999 (which I agree with by the way) you or/and other motorists had removed the immediate danger yourselves. You may have been spotted moving a bed and mattress. Right, where do you now put it? At the side of the road? Oh no!!! That's flytipping! Yet that surely is the best thing to do if it is safe (I don't know this stretch of road Martin is talking about but it sounds very busy) would be to move the hazard if at all possible. But if you don't move it and somebody got injured or killed because of it how would you then feel? Again, this is only assuming it would be safe to move it.

How's that for a catch 22 situation?

Take care all.

roboticpink

I'd have called 999.

FYI the A40 is so long that of course it has no postcode, but for that junction W12 7TQ wouldn't be a bad guesstimate - it's the postcode for BBC Media Centre which is right next to the intersection (and comes up on SatNav as being on the A40...!)