THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997 TAG: 9701180334
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 101 lines
The fastest way to reach the Virginia State Police from a cellular phone is now (NU)77 - not 911.
The Virginia State Police created the new emergency number to ease the burden on state police dispatchers, who automatically receive all 911 calls made from cellular phones, said Lt. Roger Farr of the Virginia State Police.
Sixty percent of all cellular 911 calls to the Virginia State Police must be transferred to local police departments, according to a July 1996 study.
Police receive so many 911 calls that they must separate calls from motorists using car phones from those coming from fixed-based cellular phones.
State police discussed the problem Thursday at news conferences in Richmond and Chesapeake, where dispatchers receive many of the 911 calls made in the state. All cellular phone calls made to the state police in Hampton Roads are routed through the dispatcher at the Chesapeake headquarters, Farr said.
Motorists should call (NU)77 only when they need emergency help from the Virginia State Police, Farr said. The state police patrol interstates and other major highways.
On local roads, motorists should continue to dial 911. Emergency 911 calls made from cellular phones now will be connected to the nearest police department.
The pound symbol - (NU) - is found on the lower right side of the phone pad.
Callers should never dial 911 for nonemergency calls, Farr said. Emergencies include disabled cars and serious traffic problems such as car crashes; dangerous drivers; crimes in progress such as murder, rape, assault, carjacking, abduction, robbery; or any situation in which lives are threatened.
The number of cellular phone users has grown dramatically in recent years, Farr said. During one two-week period last July, state police received 8,000 emergency 911 calls from cellular phones.
The (NU)77 number can be used anywhere in Virginia. The North Carolina Highway Patrol can be reached at (NU)47, said Tammy Van Dame, state police spokeswoman.
Each state has its own emergency cellular phone number, Van Dame said. Motorists driving out of state should look for signs by the side of road posting the state emergency highway number, she said.
More than 250,000 people in Hampton Roads have car phones, said Nina Seabright, who handles public relations for GTE MobilNet.
Farr said, ``The proliferation of cellular telephones and other developments in the wireless communications industry in recent years have had a tremendous impact on Virginia State Police dispatching centers. At times the calls have overloaded the system, making it difficult for dispatchers to forward emergency calls to fire departments and rescue squads.''
Most purchases of cellular phones now are made for safety reasons, said Elizabeth Fairchild, market manager for GTE Mobilnet. The number of people buying car phones for security rose 60 percent from 1995 to 1996, she said.
In comparison, Seabright said, the number of people buying cellular phones for business reasons has leveled off.
Many emergency calls come from ``cellular Samaritans'' who call police to help other drivers, Van Dame said.
Calls to 911 and (NU)77 are free, and ``people like to be helpful,'' Van Dame said. Virginia State Police typically receive several reports of each highway accident.
``We get five calls just for a dog on the highway,'' Van Dame said.
Motorists who become stranded without a cellular phone should stay with their vehicle and wait for someone to call for help rather than leave their car and walk to a phone. Cars abandoned on highways will be towed, Farr said.
Farr suggests that cellular phone users program nonemergency police numbers into their car phones, or keep a list of important numbers nearby. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
At the news conference in Richmond on Thursday, Col. M. Wayne
Huggins, Virginia State Police superintendent, talks about the new
number for highway emergencies.
KEY NUMBERS
Here are some important local nonemergency telephone numbers:
Virginia State Police - 424-6800.
Chesapeake - Fire department, 382-6497 or 382-6297; police
department, 382-6161.
Norfolk - Fire department, 441-5610; police department, 441-5610.
Portsmouth - Fire department, 393-5300; police department,
393-5300.
Suffolk - Fire department, 539-8787; police department, 925-1439.
Virginia Beach - Fire department, 427-5000; police department,
427-5000.
1-800-367-ROAD (1-800-367-7623) - The Virginia Department of
Transportation's customer service hot line has information about
Virginia road conditions.
1-800-947-HEAT (1-800-947-4328) - The Virginia State Police's
Help Stop Auto Theft phone number can be used to report auto theft
conspiracies or ``chop shops.'' Motorists should call the local
police to report car thefts in progress.
1-800-553-DOPE (1-800-553-3673) - Virginia State Police operate
this hotline to receive drug information. Drug deals in progress
should be reported to the nearest police department.
1-800-ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) - The federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms hot line receives information about suspected
illegal guns. A crime in progress should be reported directly to the
police.
KEYWORDS: CELLULAR PHONE TELEPHONE NUMBERS