There’s only one problem with that. It doesn’t always work.
Tell me, where does one get the alternate numbers when one is knee-deep in to crap. This is why you can’t depend on 911, you cannot depend on your cell phone. Heck with yesterdays incident if I had wanted to I could have started self extraction. It would have taken considerably longer and would have been much more difficult, it would have been possible. If it had been the other truck I would have self extracted, as doing it with a winch makes life considerably easier.
911 though is not a sure thing in the even of an emergency. Even when it is working there are oddities that can go wrong. For instance Cellular skip does happen and you can actually end up calling into a 911 center well beyond your current location. This is one of the reasons they ask for your location first and foremost. If you’re in Kansas and you got into Whitman County Washington’s dispatch, they’re not going to be able to help you much. As a FYI, yes that has happened.
Since 911 has problems why use it at all? Well because when it does work, it’s an effective way to call in the cavalry. If it wasn’t for 911, I would have to keep track of all the different numbers for the different services myself. Not an easy task, especially while traveling. My point here though is to not plan on it being your sole solution to a problem. Don’t plan on 911 working correctly when you actually need it because Murphy is bound to show himself. By all means call for the cavalry but realize it may fail, it may take longer than expected, and most importantly it is going to take time for the cavalry to arrive. Assess your situation, make sure things are under control and then call for the cavalry.
You are on your own and you may end up being on your own for longer than expected. Know that you’re call for the cavalry may not exactly work out as planned, your methods may not work, and you may be on your own for longer than you thought. Remember they have no duty to respond.
TMM is the owner, editor, and principal author at The Minuteman, a competitive shooter, and staff member for Boomershoot. Even in his free time he’s merging his love and knowledge of computers and technology with his love of firearms.
Many know his private name and information however due to the current political climate, many are distancing themselves due to the abandonment of Due Process.
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