Urban Legend Meets Reality

It’s a classic urban legend that has some truth to its roots.  Periodically, I receive an email that reads something like this:

It was about 1:00 p.m., and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents had always told her to never pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather to wait until she got to a gas station, etc.  Lauren promptly called 112 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away.

And the tale goes on.  Lauren’s life was saved and the bad guys who tried to pull her over were captured, and they all lived happily ever after.

The problem, however, is that this email probably originated in the European Union where 112 is the recognized emergency call number.  (More information about 112 can be found here). What is important to note is that it is NOT a recognized number in the US or Canada for any service. In fact, although it’s in use in the EU, and although it MIGHT (emphasis added) be routed to an appropriate 911 operator or public safety access point (PSAP) if the call is made from the US or Canada, 112 is the designated emergency number in the European Union.  In fact, if 112 works at all when dialed in the U.S. or Canada, it does so only when dialed from a mobile or wireless device and not from a landline, and when the provider has created a path to route that number to 911.  As such, if you dial 112 looking for emergency assistance, it’s possible that you’ll get it. It’s also possible that you won’t.  Given the viral nature of emails of this sort, I thought it might be a useful time to offer some official “heads up” about 3 digit numbers.

According to Mark Fletcher, ENP, Manager of Public Safety Product Vision/Strategy for major telecommunications equipment provider Avaya, “all national service numbers are N11 in format and include numbers from 211 through 911.”

211 is the number that the FCC has reserved for local community services, and although such services are offered in only 39 states, New York is one of them.  Generally, 211 is available for individuals looking for referrals to basic human needs support including, physical and mental health resources, work support, support for both older and disabled individuals, youth and family issues, and emergency suicide prevention.  A call to 211 in our area will provide referral services in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties.  The home page for locally available services is here.

311 has been designated by the FCC for non-emergency access to police and other government services.

411 is the number for Directory Assistance. It used to be the service upon which everyone relied to get a number. It’s still available for that service, but you’ll pay…  Directory assistance is also available from a variety of other sources, although to reach other sources, number sequences other than “411” will need to be dialed.

511 is the New York State Department of Transportation’s “go to” location for information about road conditions throughout the state.  511 access is available 24/7, although it is limited to those locations from which you can easily get dial tone, either by a landline or mobile phone. As such, access in Adirondack Park is probably spotty at best.  The service is automated, and as such, a caller will have to wait to find the precise information needed, but it is a useful service provided by the DoT and DMV.  There is no charge for access to the service, but established local rates (as well as roaming rates based on wireless services) will apply.

611 is the number to dial when you need to reach your wireless provider.  In most cases, calls from wireless devices to 611 are without cost, as they are often directly connected to the provider’s customer service operations. However, such service is not mandated by the FCC and is often subject to the terms (I originally wrote “whims” and decided that was unkind. True, but unkind.) of the provider.

711 is the number set aside by the FCC to provide access to Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS), which provides access to telecommunications services to those with hearing or speech disabilities via a text telephone (TTY) or other device to call persons with or without such disabilities.   FCC rules require all telephone companies (including wireline, wireless and payphone providers) that operate private branch exchanges (PBXs) to implement three-digit 711 dialing for access to TRS. A PBX is a private telephone system within an organization that switches calls between internal users and allows users to share a certain number of external phone lines. Callers from locations served by PBXs may be required to dial 9 or another prefix before entering the 711 code or placing an outside call. The FCC has also recently determined that providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service must offer 711 abbreviated dialing.

811 service is known as “Dig Safely New York.”  811 has been designed to allow those excavators and others who dig to have advance notice of utility and other buried facilities to minimize the risk of ruptured or severed lines.  More information on 811.

And finally, 911.  It is my hope that almost everyone knows that the number to dial in an emergency is 911.  911 calls are directed to a public safety access point (PSAP), where highly trained professionals can direct calls to appropriate individuals for timely and appropriate assistance.  Although I have written extensively on this issue in this journal and others, the only note that I want to add at this point is that every PSAP is mandated to answer 911 calls, even if they are made from TTY devices (see 711 above) for those who may be either hearing or speech impaired.  911 is an essential service in every community, as anyone and everyone who has dialed those digits in a moment of panic is well aware.

The bottom line is that 3 digit dialing codes exist for specific and important purposes.  Know the numbers and use them properly and you’ll see that they save time, money, and lives.