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Related sites Federal Communications Commission
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911 now the number for all emergency calls
Posted
11-8-99 Washington. Legislation making 911 the official emergency number nationwide for all cellular phones will save the lives of thousands of Americans annually, according to emergency medicine experts. "Getting rapid care to someone who is suffering from a heart attack or is involved in a car crash can mean the difference between life and death," said President Clinton as he signed the Wireless Communications Public Safety Act of 1999. The act also makes 911 the official emergency number for all regular telephones. Nationwide, there are 20 different emergency telephone numbers on wireless systems. For example, on parts of I-95 in Maryland, callers must dial *77 to get emergency help. On state roads in California, dialing *CHP summons the California Highway Patrol. This mishmash of numbers often leads to confusion. "If we can keep people connected to emergency services, we stand to save thousands of lives," said Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., who introduced the bill. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, crash-to-care time for serious accidents is about a half hour in urban areas and nearly an hour in rural areas. Almost half of the victims of serious accidents who do not receive care in the first hour die at the scene. The legislation calls for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work with states and cellular service providers to develop systems and technologies to automatically locate cellular calls. It sets a deadline of Oct. 1, 2001, for such systems to be in place, according to Dan Grosh, an attorney with the FCC's wireless telecommunications bureau. Emergency healthcare advocates applauded the legislation. "This is an important first step in developing a system that will automatically notify medical officials in the event of an accident or other emergency so help can be dispatched to the scene almost instantaneously," said Kathy Ream, director of government affairs for the Emergency Nurses Association.
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