In An Emergency And Can’t Call 911? Text It Instead
Not interested in freaking out over the phone and having your melt-down recorded for possible later airing on TV? Well, as of today in Oneida County you can now text your distress instead! But no, seriously this is a good idea especially if you are incapacitated and can't talk but still can move your thumbs, or God-forbid if you are hiding to avoid an assailant and it's disadvantageous to even whisper an emergency call.
To my complete surprise, this has already been going on in Iowa since 2009 and Vermont is also testing it out, and the technology went nationwide on the four major wireless carriers this past spring.
...Texters will get an answer, whether their call center is able to receive texts or not. If it can't, they'll get an automated response telling them to call instead... However, the FCC says people should always call 911 during an emergency if they can.
Seems kinda clunky right now and I'm with the FCC on that last statement even though I'm a HUGE texter. It's nice to have another option to spin the EMT's into gear with the click of a few buttons, but you just gotta hope that there are no typos in your text too, cause God knows when you're typing (or talking) in a panic, things don't always come out properly. Not to mention if you're texting, there isn't a human voice on the other end which can have a calming effect instead of an impersonal text urging you to relax.
[WHEC.com]