4 ms·
Does the choice of being unable to call 911 seem strange to anyone else? I think the risk of occasional accidental calls [1] is nothing compared to emergency si
by lukifer 15y ago
Does the choice of being unable to call 911 seem strange to anyone else? I think the risk of occasional accidental calls [1] is nothing compared to emergency situations where the user is too panicked to operate the touchscreen, or blind, or [insert your own edge case here]. Or is this solely a legal restriction on emergency services?
[1] I once somehow butt-dialed 911 on my old dumbphone, which was embarrassing and terrifying. I awkwardly apologized and hung up, and there were no repercussions.
- jmonegro 15y agoAlso, they could add a confirmation layer just in case. User: Call 911 Siri: Are you sure you want to call 911? etc.
- cubicle67 15y agoUser: Call 911 (or 000 here) Siri: I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- mikeash 15y agoI had the same thought. In fact, I explicitly programmed 911 into my current iPhone as a contact specifically so that I could use it with voice dialing. Maybe the same trick will work on the 4S.
- Xuzz 15y agoI believe there actually may be legal issues with having something where the user might accidentally dial 911 if the voice control interpreted their speech incorrectly. (However, Android's voice actions seemed happy to call 911 for me, although of course I didn't let the call go through.)
- ams6110 15y agoDon't know if it's like this everywhere, but here if you dial 911 they are obligated to dispatch a police officer to your location. Even if you say "sorry I meant to call 411" or whatever, or just hang up, I guess they think you might be in a situation where you somehow were able to get to the phone and call 911 but then can't talk about the emergency.
- alanh 15y agoWhere’s here? I have never heard of this sort of policy. Somewhat relevant: I have called 911 a few times to report near-emergencies (e.g., significant debris in the road, or extremely erratic driving; they forward me along)
- mwill 15y agoHere in Australia, I recently was trying to get in touch with the non-emergency police number (I had seen 2 kids, one maybe 2 years old, the other 4 at most, playing alone, on the median strip of a dual carriageway road, with no one else in sight), via directory assist, but was redirected to 000 (Our emergency number), so I hung up, to try and get the direct number again. Within 5 seconds I was called back by emergency services, and asked to explain in detail what had happened, why I had hung up, and what the situation was. The operator told me that, typically, they treat people hanging up at any stage during a 000 call extremely seriously, and will follow up, and will usually send officers out if the call is from a land line and they have an address, even if the caller says no officer is needed.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- DavidSJ 15y agoI once somehow butt-dialed 911 on my old dumbphone, which was embarrassing and terrifying. I awkwardly apologized and hung up, and there were no repercussions. I once was showing a baby how to push the buttons on a fax machine. I pushed the 9 as an example. She copied me by pushing 1, then did it again.
- raldi 15y agoI'm surprised it can't / doesn't say "I can't do that automatically, but press this button and I'll call 911."
- Tuna-Fish 15y ago> [1] I once somehow butt-dialed 911 on my old dumbphone, which was embarrassing and terrifying. I awkwardly apologized and hung up, and there were no repercussions. I used to know someone who worked as an emergency dispatcher in Finland. By her reckoning, these days at least two thirds of their calls are "butt-dialed". This might be caused by a law that said that for phones sold in Finland that have keypads, the screen lock must not stop you from dialing 112.