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

someone

112 = 999

(Just its the common emergency number within the EU)

TwistedPsycho wrote: »

Yes - 999 for something like that, everytime!

Something which goes around our office though (coming back to your postcode business) is also worth wondering and I suspect someone on here such as Amandada would have more knowledge than I, but apparently the 112 emergency facility which offers the same emergency service also tracks your location is you are on a mobile?

I work on the railway and this came about as a discussion on out internal IT infrastructure when a few reports regarding incidents came out (one of them was Greyrigg) and there was critisism that it is very difficult to pin-point a location where the nearest house is an hours drive and not everyone is offay with GPS Map co-ordinates. One of our "rapid responce" staff pointed out that 112 automatically tracks a mobile phone signal using base station proximity (I know that this is definately possible) which can be called upon if needed?

and finally...... someone mentioned 101 - That service is only available in Hampshire & Isle of Wight, most other forces now use a 0870 or 0845 number I believe.

kateward1

I was a Police Dispatcher in London and other areas for 15 years and I would definitely say yes you did the right thing. A mattress in the road is a hazard to most drivers especially you on your scooter!

If the mattress was in a residential road and causing no danger but needs to be removed, then your local council should deal with this.

It's not unusual for dispatchers/call takers to receive calls from people that don't know where they are, sadly in this day and age where cut backs are rife particularly in the police services, you could be speaking to someone on the other side of London who has never seen the M40!

Also, the dispatcher should be able to look on their computer systems and check for duplicate calls - in a case like this you would think that a few people would call in.

You also did the right thing by offering to speak to the officers directly, something that they can do easily nowadays where they can make mobile calls directly from their police radios, quote often the local officers can identify where the issue was from a landmark etc.

Lets hope it's not still there on the way home!!

kateward1

' but apparently the 112 emergency facility which offers the same emergency service also tracks your location is you are on a mobile?'

Just to clear this one up, mobiles can be tracked by the Police to the nearest square mile on the last activity of the handset - not a lot of good in a major city. Also the force requiring the information have to get a senior officers authority to apply to the mobile company for the information, once this is gained it is faxed to the appropriate provider and they then provide information and updates.

So worse case scenario is, you could send a text in London, drive to Manchester and the police could be searching a 1 sq mile area in London for you...

GraceCourt

spiro wrote: »

If you are on a motorway, call the Highways Agency on 01213358300 and they will send out a patrol to sort it out.

Pointless, I'm afraid. The Highways Agency (HA) runs all of the Regional Control Centres (RCCs) for motorways and arterial roads. If you use a motorway phone, you will be connected directly to the RCC, and if you dial 999, whatever ECHC (Emergency Call Handling Centre, there are a few of these around the UK... three I think) you are connected to will, if you've said the problem is on a motorway, transfer you directly to the Highways Agency RCC responsible (on a dedicated 999 link line).

Don't dial the 0121 number given... if that's for the HA, it will be for the RCC at Quinton, J2 M5. But, for example, if you were on the M6 north of J15 (or possibly even lower down), you need to be connected to the HA RCC at Rob Lane, Newton-le-Willows, between J22-23 M6.

And external calls to a switchboard number are always answered with a lower priority than roadside phones or 999 calls.

spiro wrote: »

Ideally you need to know motorway, direction, between junctions x & y and if there is one a mileage marker.

The "mileage" markers are placed every 100m... you should be able to see which is the nearest, and each has a reference number and letter suffix "A" or "B" to signify which carriageway you are on. If you have those details, you don't need the rest.

TIP: Every marker has an arrow on it, pointing backwards or forwards. It indicates which of the two emergency telephones on either side of you is the nearer one, to save you an unnecessarily long walk!

SAFETY TIP: Driving on a motorway is safer than on ordinary roads, but walking on the hard shoulder of a motorway is dangerous. If you must walk to a phone, it's better to walk facing the traffic: do not sit in your car when waiting for assistance.

TwistedPsycho

Thanks for clarifying Kateward1. It appears the police office that this originally came from might have been mistaken then.

spiro

GraceCourt wrote: »

Don't dial the 0121 number given... if that's for the HA, it will be for the RCC at Quinton, J2 M5. But, for example, if you were on the M6 north of J15 (or possibly even lower down), you need to be connected to the HA RCC at Rob Lane, Newton-le-Willows, between J22-23 M6.

And external calls to a switchboard number are always answered with a lower priority than roadside phones or 999 calls.

Why do you say don't phone this number as I have phoned it probably 20 times in the last year and always been connection within a minute or two and they dont say anything about the fact that for road X I should be phoning another number. This was the number they published a couple of years ago for people to call.

savercol

Martin
You get to the Towers and hear on the news that the A40 is closed due to a multi car/lorry accident after a vehicle swerved avoiding an obstacle in the road.
Sorry but I would have pulled over, completely off the road, and stood behind any barrier. Then I would dial 999 making sure the Police knew how dangorous the incident was. Then prayed no-one hit the object.

eagle_eye

No I don't think you should have called the police, after all it was clearly intended for a sleeping policeman. They used to keep the mattress nearer the kerb but many ended up with a hard shoulder.

babushkava

I have every sympathy with Martin and I think he did exactly the right thing. Thee years ago, I was travelling on the M27 from Portsmouth to Southampton, in a blustery rainstorm with limited visibility. I was on the inside lane and, like everyone else, barely managing 30 mph. Suddenly the vehicle in front of me swerved dramatically out to the middle lane, barely missing a van. For a split second, my eyes followed him, then I braked urgently as, in front of me was a large fridge or something, in the carriageway. I swerved, too, also out into the middle lane (and got away with it) - since the vehicle that was minus the fridge, was parked parallel with it, but on the hard shoulder and a person was trying to get to the fridge, I think.
Glad that I hadn't hit it, I thought immediately of 999, but I didn't have my hand's free set up, so I waited until I reached Southampton and was parked. I rang the non-emergency line. The pile-up had already happened. I feel very badly about this.

ellay864

I hadn't heard about the 101 but I've always wondered why there isn't an obvious well known number to use for those sort of calls where you know the police are needed but can't decide if it really is a real emergency...like animals escaped from a field, drunken eejits causing a nuisance to themselves or others. With all the publicity and warnings about tying up the service at the detriment to serious emergencies, why isn't there an alternative nationally available?