Preventing
Unintentional 911 Calls

The Solution

Rural Cellular Corporation recommends that all wireless phone users follow these simple steps to help prevent unintentional 911 calls:

  • Disable Emergency Buttons. Check your user manual or contact your service provider to find out if your wireless phone has a preprogrammed emergency 911 button. If it does, find out how to disable it.
  • Lock Your Keypad. Most wireless phones have a feature that locks or disables the keypad to prevent accidental dialing. Get in the habit of using it. You may even save some money in the process.
  • Don't Hang Up. If you realize you have accidentally called 911, please stay on the line until the dispatcher answers. You won't get in trouble, and you'll save the dispatcher several valuable minutes by simply explaining that you accidentally dialed the wrong number.

More About The Problem

  • There are more than 120 million telephone subscribers in the United States today.
  • Wireless 911 calls currently make up 35-40 percent of the total 911 calls received by public safety dispatchers across the country. This percentage is steadily increasing as the number of wireless phones increases.
  • Unintentional or accidental wireless 911 calls make up an estimated 30-50 percent of the total wireless 911 calls, depending upon time and location.
  • Most 911 calls are completed in less than 60 seconds. Unintentional wireless 911 calls, where the dispatcher cannot get the caller's attention, take three or four times as long to handle.
  • When 911 dispatchers begin to receive call back numbers with the unintentional calls, the handling time will increase because call back attempts will have to be made in almost all cases.
  • There are two primary causes for unintentional 911 calls from wireless phones:
    • How the phone is preprogrammed to operate. Most companies have alerted their sales and programming staff to the problems with one-button emergency features. New phones are having the one-button emergency features disabled before the phone is delivered to the customers.
    • How individuals use their wireless phone. Many wireless phones users are unaware a problem exists. Some users may know about it, but don't know how to avoid unintentionally dialing 911.