Debris on motorway - how to report?

[Ant-toe-knee]

National non emergency reporting is 101 . That number puts you through to the local force.

 

[@MARK]

National non emergency reporting is 101 . That number puts you through to the local force.

But not the control room hence it should not be used for emergencies as it will take longer to connect to who you need to be connected to.

 

[This is Pete]

I imagine that the 999 call team would have a fast track way of routing information to whatever car is closest to the incident. Something I doubt the local police station would have.

If there's a life-threatening hazard on the motorway, I'd always go right to 999.

 

[219]

National non emergency reporting is 101 . That number puts you through to the local force.

Perhaps in some areas , but by no means 'national' yet .

 

[Ant-toe-knee]

England and Wales

 

[@MARK]

Perhaps in some areas , but by no means 'national' yet .

The England & Wales justice system (which includes the courts and the police) is separate from Scotland.

As such, the 101 system that rolled out to England and Wales in full over the last couple of months is not being rolled out into Scotland. Indeed the Scotland government have no plans for anything similar.

 

[219]

Moreover , since it isn't publicised north of the border , many Scots drivers traveling down south won't have heard of it .

 

[@MARK]

Moreover , since it isn't publicised north of the border , many Scots drivers traveling down south won't have heard of it .

True but once they have gone independent and we have reintroduced border controls (assuming the Tory government will ever get the concept of border controls) it will not be a big problem anyway.

Seriously though, every force has had a non emergency number for years. You normally see it plastered down the side of patrol cars etc and is often an 0845 number.

The problem was however that it was different for every force so if I needed to call it in an area I was not from, I would not have a clue which number to call.

The single number in theory means no matter where you are, you only have to remember one number.

Now the extended plan was to use 101 to give you access to even more services including your local council especially for some of their out of hours "emergency" services and perhaps other organisations as well. I understand that whole conversation got very political so may never happen. The plan however was that when you rang it, because we know exactly where you are we can ensure you are routed to your local service.

Then you have the new 111 number for the NHS. All of these are supposed to make life easier for you

 

[219]

Didn't 111 always exist as an alternative to 999 ?

IIRC , it just went through to the 999 operators .

 

[219]

The other side of the coin is that you will get English folk up here dialling 101 , and I guess it won't work ?

 

[@MARK]

Didn't 111 always exist as an alternative to 999 ?

IIRC , it just went through to the 999 operators .

You are thinking 112 which is the international emergency number that is supposed to work in every country

What you should find it that on a normal mobile phone (not a touchscreen smartphone), you should still be able to dial 112 and press send even when the keypad is locked or there is no SIM in the phone. 999 does this on most as well (as does 911)

 

[219]

Seriously though, every force has had a non emergency number for years. You normally see it plastered down the side of patrol cars etc and is often an 0845 number.

The problem was however that it was different for every force so if I needed to call it in an area I was not from, I would not have a clue which number to call.

As above , I have the direct number for my local station stored in my phone and that is the one I use for any non emergency at home . I know the Strathclyde number is on their website and some of their vehicles , but it is not memorable .

Even giving each police force something like 0845 , followed by the local STD code then 999 would have been intuitive for many ( eg for Strathclyde 0845 141 999 , Lothian & Borders 0845 131 999 etc ) but the numbers they have don't seem to follow any pattern .

Even the present numbers are perhaps fine for those of us with Internet access , but for your granny who is a bit concerned because she has had a suspicious caller at her door , or someone out in the street with a 'dumbphone' who has had their car stolen ( apparently not an emergency these days ) , 999 would still seem the most appropriate number to call .

I would hope that such 999 calls are still handled sympathetically , although I understand and would hope that frivolous ( I've broken my fingernail ) type calls are equally treated with the contempt they deserve .

The point about 101 being available for other services is a good one . With the Fire Service we , of course , get emergency calls via 999 , but also each brigade again has non emergency numbers so that members of public can phone up for advice , to book a fire home safety visit , etc . No doubt other services would find benefit too .

 

[markjay]

As above , I have the direct number for my local station stored in my phone and that is the one I use for any non emergency at home . I know the Strathclyde number is on their website and some of their vehicles , but it is not memorable .

Even giving each police force something like 0845 , followed by the local STD code then 999 would have been intuitive for many ( eg for Strathclyde 0845 141 999 , Lothian & Borders 0845 131 999 etc ) but the numbers they have don't seem to follow any pattern .

Even the present numbers are perhaps fine for those of us with Internet access , but for your granny who is a bit concerned because she has had a suspicious caller at her door , or someone out in the street with a 'dumbphone' who has had their car stolen ( apparently not an emergency these days ) , 999 would still seem the most appropriate number to call .

I would hope that such 999 calls are still handled sympathetically , although I understand and would hope that frivolous ( I've broken my fingernail ) type calls are equally treated with the contempt they deserve .

The point about 101 being available for other services is a good one . With the Fire Service we , of course , get emergency calls via 999 , but also each brigade again has non emergency numbers so that members of public can phone up for advice , to book a fire home safety visit , etc . No doubt other services would find benefit too .

We now have a cat - does one actually call the Fire service if the cat is stuck on a tree?

This is not a joke - a neighbour's cat had to be put down after suffering a serious back injury falling down from a tall tree.

 

[219]

We now have a cat - does one actually call the Fire service if the cat is stuck on a tree?

This is not a joke - a neighbour's cat had to be put down after suffering a serious back injury falling down from a tall tree.

Not an easy question to answer , but I can tell you that in the recent high winds we received numerous calls about such things as trampolines and garden sheds being blown away , fences being blown down and cows escaping from fields .

I suspect that if nothing more serious is ongoing , your local fire service would assist in such a matter , but it might not be so appropriate to dial 999 .

 

[flying haggis]

We now have a cat - does one actually call the Fire service if the cat is stuck on a tree?

This is not a joke - a neighbour's cat had to be put down after suffering a serious back injury falling down from a tall tree.

if you are in Norwich and report a seagull stuck in a tree! they send 3 appliances and fifteen firemen!!!!!

http://www.birdtrader.co.uk/news/three_crews_sent_to_trapped_gull_in_norwich/646

 

[rf065]

We now have a cat - does one actually call the Fire service if the cat is stuck on a tree?

This is not a joke - a neighbour's cat had to be put down after suffering a serious back injury falling down from a tall tree.

I wasn't aware the Fire Service put down cats? Best call the vet instead.

Russ

 

[prprandall51]

if you are in Norwich and report a seagull stuck in a tree! they send 3 appliances and fifteen firemen!!!!!

Three crews sent to trapped gull in Norwich | Birdtrader

I have no problem with that. Nobody wants to see an animal in distress - even a gull.

I imagine they look upon it as good practice for when they have to respond to calls involving trapped humans. Obviously, I am assuming that if, partway through rescuing the seagull, they got a call to a fire or something similar, they wouldn't hang around to see the gull safe before moving on.

 

[pimpmyc250td]

m66 - set of 12 ft ally ladders in the fast lane...took a bit of dodging...

 

[Dieselman]

m66 - set of 12 ft ally ladders in the fast lane...took a bit of dodging...

...to get over to the hard shoulder so you could pick them up...

 

[John]

Not sure I would have wanted to collect them unless it was an empty motorway...

Rolling road block otherwise I would imagine.