where does my call go?

[noyourrights]

today i dialled 999 from my mobile and asked for the police:eek:
i was reporting a deisel spillage on the "A38 at Rudgeway"
the operator asked me to wait a moment while she found Rudgeway and asked "is it was Rudgeway in bristol" she was spot on it is near Bristol 8)

nothing strange so far shall i get to the point:rolleyes:

i was under the impression that when transfered to the emergency service you have asked for you are connected to a local'ish' operator decided by the location of your phone signal ;)

so why ask if it's Rudgeway in Bristol there are no other Rudgeways in the area and i cant find another Rudgeway in the country:shrug:

this is why i am curious as to whether it was a local'ish' operator

soon after i was contacted by Avon Fire and Rescue as they could not find the spillage and wanted a more precise location
the spill was about a metre wide and 3 miles long difficult to be precise about something that large:)

[7db]

Does a diesel spillage warrant a 999? What is the test -- Is it "imminent danger of injury or damage to property" as in Mayday? With a dash of "crime in progress and / or criminal still at scene"?

I've called local plod for a lump of wood in the road, but not 999 for ages.

[noyourrights]

as you probably know deisel on a wet road is like ice so a spillage of that magnitude i believe warrants a 999 call dont you?

consider the alternatives
phoning the highway's agency give them 3 weeks they might turn up:rolleyes:

the council give them 3 months:eek:

last time i dialed 999 was when a pensioner was knelt in lane 1 of the motorway changing the wheel of his caravan:eek: :eek:

[7db]

NYR - not faulting your call - just wondering what the general rule for whether its 999 or local police that should be called.

[BoinkCluster]

i was under the impression that when transfered to the emergency service you have asked for you are connected to a local'ish' operator decided by the location of your phone signal ;)


Unless it's changed in the last year or so, all emergency calls from mobiles are directed to one of three call centres - one in Newcastle, one in Scotland and another whose location I can't remember.

It's usually possible for the operator to get a rough idea of the caller's location (and therefore the apropriate emergency service control room to connect you to) from the base station that the mobile is logged on to, but this may not necessarily be the closest to the caller. If you're moving in a vehicle that can also cause some confusion if you move between base stations during a call.

[noyourrights]

if im at home i allways use the local number even for things i could probably use 999 for

but if im on the road and i usually am its got to be 999 its not alllways obvious whitch local station to call especially motorways as these are covered by 'road policing units' (what was wrong with calling them traffic)

but i do go over in my mind should i or shouldnt i use 999 i guess theres no list of reasons to use 999

i think now if you dial 999 and they consider it unnesasary or is it unnessasary they will transfer you to a non emergency operator

[Hoon Devil]

the council give them 3 months:eek:

Our local authority has a rapid response van for dealing with things like diesel spills... generally there within an hour. Can you tell the area manager is a biker? :D

[wazza]

999 cals can end up way up north in that fine capitol city of Scotland, that is why you must know exactly where you are when you call... Many a force have been despatched to a location only to find out it was 100's of miles away in a different county.

You can ask the 999 operator to connect you to a particular force area and actually get through, its a lottery really. Generally if many 999 calls are coming in they will be routed to the first available police control room who have a free line. Ie if a multiple accident happens on the M40 near Oxford, calls would generally go to TVP control room at Abingdon, but if all the lines are busy, they would be directed to another phone at a call centre within the force, then to other control rooms elsewhere.

So dont just expect to get through to your local and nearest, it could be the furthest.

[wazza]

If you think your call is an emergency always use 999 or 112, if it is not believed to be an emergency you will be advised when you call of a number to ring or you will be called back. But as a rule of thumb if it is a danger, life threatening or a likelyhood of any danger then 999 everytime.

[noyourrights]

cheers Wazza that answers that question at least it's not routed to India etc. like alot of call centres

the guy that deals with road defects on my local council is a biker i used the online reporting form to report a defect he phoned me two weeks after i reported it and was annoyed with thier system because it had only just been given too him but give him his due the following day the problem was sorted and he called me back to let me know what action he had taken