PLEASE stop when calling 911 about car accidents

[Scott]

Ladies and gents, in this age of mobile phones and during this season of snow and ice emergency services are frequently activated for legitimate emergency events where life and death are sometimes seconds apart. Often we are alerted to car accidents by a passer by and their mobile phone and we wish to continue to see this sort of thing happen, of course.

In my neighborhood, where I volunteer as a firefighter, we cover approximately 25 kilomteres of four lane highway in our own district and provide support to four other fire departments for the JAWS of Life service for their bits of highway and secondary roads. So when someone hits the rhubarb  on icy roads we have to first get ourselves to the fire station on the same icy roads that someone just bailed off of and then drive emergency apparatus over said icy roads to the same spot where someone hit the tools, see where I am going here? It's dangerous.

So, it gets a little frustrating when we get a call, get to the station and then drive all over hell's half acre only to find out that the car accident is nowhere to be found (which we are happy about, of course) because someone called it in on their cellphone but couldn't be arsed enough to stop and see if people are okay. Yeah, you're doing a service but you should think about the service you are doing and the ramifications of your being in too much of a hurry to stop your car and make a safe cell phone call on roads that already saw someone slide off of them.

And not only do we face the risk of tackling these roads but you face risk as well. Why? Because if your house catches fire or you slide off the road while we are chasing another, non existant, accident guess where that leaves you? It leaves you waiting for another department to respond to your legitimate emergency while we chase geese. And it CAN happen.

According to a cop buddy of mine (and I'd love to have someone expand on this for me if you have the legit info) they do have the means to charge you for such a thing. Leaving the scene or something tied to that? As said, I get this second hand and the conversation was a while ago. But is that what it has to come to?

So please, if you witness or come across a wreck on the roads: stop safely, call 911 if it is needed and wait to see if you are needed to help.

Thanks

 

[PuckChaser]

I'm actually surprised people called 911... I've seen cars blow right past an accident they witnessed without even stopping or pulling out a phone.

 

[medaid]

ZC can correct me if I'm wrong. The idea of "leaving a scene of an accident" is governed under the Motor Vehicle/Highway Acts of the Province. Basically it applies to those who have been involved in an accident and leaving it without either due care to make sure all is alright, or attempting to flee from LE after the fact.

By-standers who call 911 cannot be charged for attempting to render aid, unless it was done with malicious intent (i.e. mischief, then it's a dual offence under the Criminal Code), as the by-stander is covered by the Provinces' Good Samaritan Act.

 

[mariomike]

I never heard of a Call Originator getting in trouble, unless it is a Malicious False Alarm.
Where I worked, of about 425,700 calls processed by ( Metro Toronto ) Ambulance per year, there are only about 179,600 transports. Many of those are Frequent Flyers.
Sometimes, it was enough to simply show up.

As for stopping to see if people are okay, although there is no law that requires you to do so, it's the decent thing to do. But, it's also up to you to decide if the risk to your safety, and maybe your family as well, is worth it. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour. By all means, report what you saw. Even if the information you provide is less than complete.
A lot of Good Samaritans, have become casualties themselves in secondary collisions.

If interested, regarding Duty to Rescue in Canada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue#Canadian_law

 

[pbi]

I have to agree with Scott;s frustration. When I was a volunteer firefighter in Virginia, I experienced this kind of thing a couple of times. One night we got toned out for a motor vehicle accident on I-95 (a few minutes from our station). We rolled out and went blasting north up the thruway, looking for the accident scene. After a few minutes of seeing nothing in either lanes, we were about to call it off when we rounded a bend and saw the emergency vehicles in the southbound, nowhere near where we thought. Fortunately other companies and EMS were already on scene, so no loss, but it meant that our company was needlessly out of its "first due" area.

I have come to the conclusion over the years that many civilians drive around with a very limited idea of where they actually are, or what direction they are travelling in.


Cheers

 

[Scott]

Interesting point, pbi. Indeed, most people don't really give a toss about those funny signs with numbers on them denoting speed, let alone the ones with distance markers on them and thus would have no idea how important they are to getting help to the right spot. Any emergency responder living near me will know the maddening instance of being called out to the wrong highway because someone thinks they are somewhere they are not, or traveling through two districts because info is updated and you're already on the road and will make it faster so why stand down?

Callers from cellphones can be a blessing and a curse. I have chased car fires that were in another part of the province and I have also navigated logging roads to find a four wheeler upset with a kid hurt. Don't get me wrong, I am not bitching about it too much because we'd rather get a call than no call because the one that someone drives by and ignores will be the real deal, you know?

True story: the other night a call came in for a "possible house on fire" located "somewhere between" two of the streets in my town. Being that these streets are handy my house (I live on one of them) I first took a long look at my place to make sure it wasn't burning then headed for the station all the while scanning for this "house on fire" It turns out that a drive-by caller saw someone having a bonfire (a big one, granted) and decided to alert us. Did you read that correctly? They thought they saw a house on fire but could not stop to even check if there were people inside. They simply called 911 and figured their job was done.

What happened was this: we respond to the station set to roll with everything we have and three other stations are responding to send us additional pers and apparatus AND two more stations are put on standby in case it all goes for shit. All because someone thought they saw a house on fire. Hey, I am biased. I would stop. But I am a fireman. But I know my Dad would stop too and he's never been.

I reiterate - take five minutes out of your day, pull over (only if it is safe) and check things out. Someone will thank you for it. If I don't I will at least be thinking it, you can bet on that.

 

[forumdood007]

I work as a calltaker/dispatcher in a 911 center and to be sure, there are policies regarding all emergencies. For us, we dispatch Police and Fire at the municipal level and EHS handles ambulance dispatch at another location, at a provincial level. The 911 system is also run by the Province. All that said, calls for MVAs must be dealt with like this: if there are no injuries, serious leaks, criminal activity and the vehicles are drivable....the drivers exchange info and report the accident to the local police station to obtain an accident report for insurance purposes. No emergency services attend. If there is a need for a tow truck, someone refuses to exchange info, a driver is impaired etc, Police attend. Police do not determine fault, you pay your insurance company for that. If there are injuries, Police, EHS and Fire respond. A passerby can call 911 or the local non-emergency number for Police but will be asked to provide information on the scene they are seeing. We must remember that emergency vehicles, especially fire trucks, traveling at a high rate of speed, are doing so at high risk to themselves and everyone on the road. It is best to determine if it is necessary, after all, it's all about common sense.

 

[mariomike]

We must remember that emergency vehicles, especially fire trucks, traveling at a high rate of speed, are doing so at high risk to themselves and everyone on the road.

Not all of us choose to put everyone on the road, as well as ourselves, at high risk. But I agree, there are plenty who do.
Edit to add: I'm mostly just a pedestrian now. I no longer drive for a living.

 

[Sheerin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3uoVOOlT2s&feature=related  this happens far too often. 
Not becuase of people making bad 911 calls, rather it's crews not really thinking when they're responding.

 

[mariomike]

Not becuase of people making bad 911 calls, rather it's crews not really thinking when they're responding.

I agree with you 100%.
A trick I used when I felt the adrenalin start, was to imagine what if a child ran out into the street?

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Well, now that its unlawful to use your cell phone when driving, maybe we won't get those calls anymore?  ;D
Several things in play:
1.  There is a shocking number of people who do not know how to call EMS of any sort on a non-emergency line. 
2.  Some policies require all three services to roll when an accident is on a 400 series highway unless otherwise told (very aggravating).
3.  Bingo hall recruiting ensures the most unmotivated people work as call takers and ask the least number of questions.  Among questions not asked is usually a way to call back the original caller. 
4.  Some collisions (for God's sake, don't call them "accidents" unless a dead tree fell into the roadway.  They are rarely "accidental") fix/clear themselves if you ignore them long enough. 
5.  Single MVC's at night almost always are alcohol involved.  They don't tend to stick around either.  And if anyone thinks it's clever to call in a stolen auto report the morning after your car was found in a ditch/porch/night club, forget it. 

For my part, if it is an injury collision that is deemed so by my dispatcher I'm going at about 50% top speed.  If we are getting multiple calls in from people losing their minds on the cell phones, that is a solid one.  You are still only going to get about 80% from me though.  100% is only for officer needs assistance. 

 

[mariomike]

1.  There is a shocking number of people who do not know how to call EMS of any sort on a non-emergency line. 

I posted the number of calls processed by T-EMS versus the number of transports. Just showing up seems to be enough for some people. They don't want a ride.  In recent years, TFS has started coming on a lot of ambulance calls.:

" “Maisie,” an elderly Toronto woman whose chain smoking often leaves her gasping for air, is so well-known to the firefighters at the nearby station that when her address is announced on the loudspeaker, they all bellow her name. They lumber up the dark stairwell to her squalid apartment as often as three or four times a night. On this particular occasion, they listen to her breathing and give her oxygen. After the paramedics arrive, her colour improves. She signs a waiver, refusing to allow EMS to take her to hospital. On his way out, the fire hall captain empties an ashtray, and places a few dirty dishes in the sink."
http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:qdm6J5Up-_cJ:www2.macleans.ca/tag/toronto-fire-service/+toronto+fire+dishes&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a

 

[mariomike]

3.  Bingo hall recruiting ensures the most unmotivated people work as call takers and ask the least number of questions.

When I joined, if you wanted to dispatch Metro Paramedics, you had to have served as a Metro Paramedic a minimum of five years. Communications was a good job. It paid the same as the street, and was clean, inside work with no heavy lifting. Now it's almost 100% civilians in there.
Back in the early 1970's we had about 15-18 Dispatchers. We now have at least 112 Dispatchers. That's not including Supervisors. The geographic area remains the same 243 sq miles. Call Volume has skyrocketed.

I should like to add, that as far as Dispatchers go, they have my respect. It's not an easy job.

 

[Bass ackwards]

I should like to add, that as far as Dispatchers go, they have my respect. It's not an easy job.

Thanks Mike.

 

[mariomike]

I've listened to some "Greatest Telephone Hits" on tape, Bass ack. The ones where they had to stay on the phone with the Caller until we got there. I bet you preferred dispatching more than call taking!
Worth every penny, in my opinion.

 

[Bass ackwards]

The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of superb people on either end of the radio and, occasionally, unfortunately, you'll also find some real losers in that mix.

Ditto for the phones.
And for damned sure, not every one who calls in is a polite, observant, sober, thoughtful individual.
Far too many callers simply demand "just send someone!" when you ask for further details. Still others -after years of watching shows like Rescue 911- believe that when you call 911, a cruiser/ambulance/firetruck suddenly materializes out of the mist and automatically solves whatever problem they've gotten themselves into.
Such people are lawsuits waiting to happen because they are incapable of realizing that:
Yes, your stupidity can get you killed -no matter how good the call takers and responders are.
For that reason, I and most of the Emergency Services communicators I knew, cordially detested that show.

So to go back to the OP's point:
Scott, I'm afraid you're preaching to the choir. Most of the people reading this are military, ex-miltary, EMS, LEOs, or otherwise have some training or at least an interest in such things and would likely be of some use at an accident scene (it'd be interesting to poll the membership to see how many people carry well-stocked first-aid kits, blankets, fire extinguishers, etc in their personal vehicles).
But, if this gets through to even one youngster or civilian who otherwise would not have thought of such things, then kudos to you for bringing it up.
Stay safe.     

 

[mariomike]

Far too many callers simply demand "just send someone!" when you ask for further details. Still others -after years of watching shows like Rescue 911- believe that when you call 911, a cruiser/ambulance/firetruck suddenly materializes out of the mist and automatically solves whatever problem they've gotten themselves into.

Reminds me a little of what Dennis Smith wrote in "Report from Engine Company 82":
"If you pick up the telephone receiver in this town you may, or may not, get a dial tone. If you get on a subway you may, or may not, get stuck in a tunnel for an hour. The wall socket in your apartment may, or may not, contain electricity. The city's air may, or may not, be killing you. The only real sure thing in this town is that the firemen come when you pull down the handle on that red box."

 

[Bass ackwards]

Ha. It's been quite a while since I read that worthy tome.

The flip side of these non-info calls, is when you get a fender-bender at a major intersection or on the highway at rush hour.
Then, everybody calls it in on their cellphones. So what we had -in my situation at least- was three people answering phones and twenty-odd people calling 911 at the same time. PLUS whatever else is going on that people are calling about.
Some comm centres have some sort of warning system to let you know there's a 911 call  waiting when all your phones are busy. This is usually a strobe light or audible alarm of some sort (or both) and makes you feel like you're in a nuclear generator station in the midst of a meltdown.

For added charm:
By the time you get to the eighth or ninth caller, who's been listening to an "all our lines are busy" recording for two or three minutes - when you finally do get to them, you are very likely to hear...
"Well. It's nice to see you're finally awake."

 

[mariomike]

I know it's a very demanding, and at times stressful job. I had a bit of bad luck on a call years ago and was admitted to a burn unit. When I got out, I had to work Modified Duty for a while. The Dept put me in the Communications Centre and I was very thankful they did. They were very kind to me, and it was an opportunity to learn how things worked in "the fishbowl". I had a great time in there!

 

[Bass ackwards]

Back when police comm centres were still staffed by coppers, there used to be the three "INs" of winding up in communications:
IN sh!t
INcapacitated
INcompetent

Needless to say, things have changed. Sure it's a tough and sometimes crappy job, but lots of people have tough, crappy jobs. Heck, a lot of the people here can include "having people try to kill me" in their job descriptions. That's probably no fun at all. A friend emailed me a picture of a veterinarian, wrapped in plastic, with his entire upper body inserted into the back end of an elephant at a zoo.
Now there's a job that's gotta really suck.

It's all relative...