A mountaineering expert is urging walkers and climbers to sign up to a new service that allows 999 calls to be made by text.
Mountaineering Council of Scotland safety adviser Heather Morning pointed out that in many remote mountain areas, mobile phone coverage is weak and where a phone call might not get through, a text message could do.
But outdoors enthusiasts need to register for the service in order to use it.
Ms Morning said: “If you cannot make voice calls, you can now contact the 999 emergency services by SMS text from your mobile phone. This is going to be particularly useful for those needing 999 assistance in the hills when mobile reception is poor and there is not enough signal to make a call.”
She urged walkers and climbers to register for the service now, not to wait for an emergency.
She added: “To register, text ‘register’ to 999. You will get a reply; then follow the instructions you are sent. This will only take approx two minutes of your time and could save your life!”
The service, which is run with the Government’s support by the major mobile phone providers and the fire, police and ambulance services, was initially set up for people with hearing difficulties and those unable to communicate by talking.
Mountain rescue teams in the UK are usually mobilised by the police.
Derek Mercer
18 November 2010Dear sirs,
Iam very interested in registering to 999 using my mobile phone - but unsure how to do this.
I have typed in register to 999 on my text page, however the phone is now requesting a telephone number to send the message to.
Can you help please
I am calling you from thr comfort of my home and not stranded in some remote place - Thanks
Tom Pilgrem
18 November 2010it says send it to 999 ?
Morag
18 November 2010This is right. Just text it to 999. I have just done it, and then you get a reply to confirm, which you also have to respond to.
I'll let you know if the emergency services turn up at my front door!
Richard Warren
19 November 2010Interesting - have just discussed with Cumbria Police and will be doing a test with them this pm. I have registered my mobile successfully and will try out the service - I am doing this in consultation with cumbria police '999' call centre so its all above board. Will also contact Lakes MRTs to advise what the position is from a Cumbria perspective -
Will add a note on this site to give some feedback on the test - there are more details on http://emergencySMS.org.uk
Richard Warren
Chairman Lakes MRTs Associaition (LDSAMRA)
Neil R
19 November 2010Didn't actually time it, but it seemed like a lot less than 2 minutes: no forms, no questions - even a technophobic cretin like me managed very easily.
Richard Warren
19 November 2010I carried out the test this pm in conjunction with Cumbria Police Desk - here is the output>>>>
Test message sent 13:07:02 with following replies from call centre / police call handlers
13:09:25 - "Will send SMS mesage to you when connected to police"
13:09:57 - "you are connected to the police"
13:13:11 - "end of call police ended call"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It is possible that the 2 min 20 second delay might be due to the people receiving the test message being unsure of how to respond to a test message.
I have discussed with Cumbria police who were aware of the text messaging service for the deaf/hard of hearing but had not heard of this new service (the call handler group anyway).
They have explained that if they receive a call via text messaging they will, in the first instance, try and speak to the person and if this fails will text back and take details by text.
This will be a useful service for those times when you cannot get a decent signal for voice but can send text messages. If the system is abused they can de-activate the callers mobile and probably prosecute.
I don't know how much this service costs but there are more details on http://www.emergencysms.org.uk
Anway - the system works and I have avoided prosecution.
Kind regards
Richard Warren
Chairman LDSAMRA
Matthew
21 November 2010PDF on http://emergencySMS.org.uk says
"It will usually take about two minutes before you get a reply. If you don’t get a reply within three minutes, please try again or find other ways of getting help."
Kenny Allen
08 March 2015999
Samantha White
10 March 2015Look up Sarloc on the internet.
Steve
10 March 2015If your signal is not good enough to use voice, you won't be able to get a data signal to enable you to use Sarloc. Texting will still work with a poor signal.
RangerRick
24 April 2015Do you know if there is anything like this in the US?
I just moved from the flat lands and it goes up to 7000 feet here. Folks getting lost and some never found. That 999 is a great aid.
Best Regards, Rick
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