WASHINGTON — About 70 percent of 911 calls are made from wireless numbers and of those, about half are accidents from buttons being pressed while inside pockets and purses.
This is according to Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Reilly, who posted the information on the agency’s blog after visiting 911 call centers in New York and Alaska.
“If my anecdotal experiences are remotely accurate, it would mean that approximately 84 million 911 calls a year are pocket dials,” he wrote. “This is a huge waste of resources, raises the cost of providing 911 services, depletes PSAP morale, and increases the risk that legitimate 911 calls – and first responders – will be delayed.”
He suggests the need for more education and putting safeguards in place, such as a penalty fee for repeat illegitimate calls, or having wireless providers send a text message whenever a wireless device dials 911 to let customers know they may have mistakenly called the emergency number. A text wouldn’t interfere with an actual emergency, he added.
“If consumers are alerted to the simple fact that they have dialed 911 accidentally,” O’Reilly said, “they may take precautions to prevent it from happening again.”