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#1
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
The situation: driving on the M25 and come across debris in the road. Easy
enough for me to avoid it but plenty of potential for an incident. Should I have stopped and phoned 999 to report this, or is there a better number to phone (like the Highways Agency)? I thought at the the time phoning 999 wasn't called for as there wasn't an accident. Although in hindsight, there was plenty of opportunity for one to happen. TBH, I don't even know if the H.A. have a number to call in cases like this and I find any advice on their website. So, 999 or H.A.? Advice please... -- Regards, Steve "...which means he created the heaven and the earth... in the DARK! How good is that?" |
#2
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
Steve wrote in
: The situation: driving on the M25 and come across debris in the road. Easy enough for me to avoid it but plenty of potential for an incident. Should I have stopped and phoned 999 to report this, or is there a better number to phone (like the Highways Agency)? I thought at the the time phoning 999 wasn't called for as there wasn't an accident. Although in hindsight, there was plenty of opportunity for one to happen. TBH, I don't even know if the H.A. have a number to call in cases like this and I find any advice on their website. So, 999 or H.A.? Advice please... I would have phoned 999: you were averting a potential accident. Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. However if the debris had been on a non-motorway road such as a dual-carriageway you wouldn't have had that option and 999 would have been the only realistic option. Trying to find out the number of the Highways Agency on a mobile isn't realistic: I wonder if the directory enquiries service that you chose would even be able to trace them if you could quote an address for them? I favour the simplest approach which allows you to do your duty as a responsible citizen as quickly and as possible so you can continue your journey. |
#3
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
On 18/1/06 19:51, in article
, "Martin Underwood" wrote: Steve wrote in : TBH, I don't even know if the H.A. have a number to call in cases like this and I find any advice on their website. Oops ... I *can't* find any advice ... !!! ... Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. Good point. I've never had to use one of those phones, and I've always wondered given the amount of traffic on the M25 at 6.00pm whether you'd be able to hear the person on the other end! Cheers. -- Regards, Steve "...which means he created the heaven and the earth... in the DARK! How good is that?" |
#4
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
Steve wrote in
: On 18/1/06 19:51, in article , "Martin Underwood" wrote: Steve wrote in : TBH, I don't even know if the H.A. have a number to call in cases like this and I find any advice on their website. Oops ... I *can't* find any advice ... !!! ... Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. Good point. I've never had to use one of those phones, and I've always wondered given the amount of traffic on the M25 at 6.00pm whether you'd be able to hear the person on the other end! The only time I've used a motorway-style phone was on the Marlow Bypass (A404 between M40 and M4) to report a car that appeared to have broken down in Lane 1 at night and had no lights or advance warning triangle. As such, it was an accident waiting to happen. I had to struggle to hear and to make myself heard and understood: the operator (as so often when reporting emergencies) had great difficulty working out where I was referring to, even though I said something fairly unambiguous like "it's on the southbound carriageway of the A404, 0.8 miles north of this phone which is 12345". |
#5
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
"Martin Underwood" wrote in message
... Steve wrote in : On 18/1/06 19:51, in article , "Martin Underwood" wrote: Steve wrote in : TBH, I don't even know if the H.A. have a number to call in cases like this and I find any advice on their website. Oops ... I *can't* find any advice ... !!! ... Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. Good point. I've never had to use one of those phones, and I've always wondered given the amount of traffic on the M25 at 6.00pm whether you'd be able to hear the person on the other end! The only time I've used a motorway-style phone was on the Marlow Bypass (A404 between M40 and M4) to report a car that appeared to have broken down in Lane 1 at night and had no lights or advance warning triangle. As such, it was an accident waiting to happen. I had to struggle to hear and to make myself heard and understood: the operator (as so often when reporting emergencies) had great difficulty working out where I was referring to, even though I said something fairly unambiguous like "it's on the southbound carriageway of the A404, 0.8 miles north of this phone which is 12345". You'd think that'd be a great place for simple noise-cancelling technology... it's not that expensive, and could possibly save lives (at a stretch, I know ) |
#6
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 20:02:15 GMT, Steve wrote:
Good point. I've never had to use one of those phones, and I've always wondered given the amount of traffic on the M25 at 6.00pm whether you'd be able to hear the person on the other end! Cheers. Used one on a busy section of the M1 near Northampton on a Sunday afternoon last September. It took them ages (several minutes) to answer as well and was rubbish - barely audible unless I stuck my head right inside the box! Next time I'll stick to the mobile... |
#7
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
Martin Underwood wrote:
I would have phoned 999: you were averting a potential accident. Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. However if the debris had been on a non-motorway road such as a dual-carriageway you wouldn't have had that option and 999 would have been the only realistic option. I've never understood why we don't have a 'serious but not emergency' number to call in this country, something like 888 would be logical. I believe that that idea has been discussed and may be implemented in the future, although I believe that they are going to use something far less easy to remember, like 112 or something. |
#8
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
Jack Taylor wrote in
: Martin Underwood wrote: I would have phoned 999: you were averting a potential accident. Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. However if the debris had been on a non-motorway road such as a dual-carriageway you wouldn't have had that option and 999 would have been the only realistic option. I've never understood why we don't have a 'serious but not emergency' number to call in this country, something like 888 would be logical. I believe that that idea has been discussed and may be implemented in the future, although I believe that they are going to use something far less easy to remember, like 112 or something. Yes I don't understand why there wasn't an 888 set up at the same time as 999. Instead they've only recently started giving police forces 0845 xxxxxx numbers - but they are not the same throughout teh country so if you're travelling, you've no idea which numebr to ring. |
#9
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
Martin Underwood wrote:
Jack Taylor wrote in : Martin Underwood wrote: I would have phoned 999: you were averting a potential accident. Maybe you should have stopped at a motorway phone and used that instead to report the debris. However if the debris had been on a non-motorway road such as a dual-carriageway you wouldn't have had that option and 999 would have been the only realistic option. I've never understood why we don't have a 'serious but not emergency' number to call in this country, something like 888 would be logical. I believe that that idea has been discussed and may be implemented in the future, although I believe that they are going to use something far less easy to remember, like 112 or something. Yes I don't understand why there wasn't an 888 set up at the same time as 999. Instead they've only recently started giving police forces 0845 xxxxxx numbers - but they are not the same throughout teh country so if you're travelling, you've no idea which numebr to ring. 888 would be an incredibly stupid choice, as it would've restricted the number of potential phone numbers available even more - it would be even worse than the present situation where Londoners (and probably also the rest of the country) have one too many digits... The sensible alternative would be 911, as nearly everyone already knows it by now. -- Aidan Stanger http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk |
#10
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Is it correct to use 999 in this case...?
In article , Aidan Stanger wrote:
888 would be an incredibly stupid choice, as it would've restricted the number of potential phone numbers available even more - it would be even worse than the present situation where Londoners (and probably also the rest of the country) have one too many digits... The sensible alternative would be 911, as nearly everyone already knows it by now. 911 would also restrict the available telephone numbers. There are already numbers allocated which begin 911. Brian -- * * * * ** * * ** ** * * * ** * * ** * * * * * * * * * * |
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