911 Text

ZooLights Walk-Through Experience Is Back
Oregon Zoo

We are driving back from Zoo Lights (we took the walking tour) and we are sitting at the stop sign at the corner of Skyline and Burnside waiting to turn left onto Burnside. Even at 7 PM there is a fair amount of traffic on Burnside so you wait until the pack of eastbound cars passes and you look and see a westbound pack fast approaching, so you wait. This happens again and just when you think it might be safe to go you see a bus coming. Technically, you can turn left into the center lane but it's still an uncomfortable situation, especially when there is a big fat bus bearing down on you, so we wait.

I've ridden buses before but not if I can avoid it. Having a car is just part of who I am. But it is entirely possible that my world could implode and I might have to resort to riding buses. So now I'm imagining riding the bus, and while I like to think I'm a manly man, I'm also afraid of wild-eyed crazy people. So what do you do if you are riding the bus and a very sketchy guy gets on? Don't freak out at the first weirdo you encounter, the world is full of them. You need to spend some time out in public to get a feel for what kind of crazy to look out for. But if your street sense is telling you someone might be trouble, you might want to call 911 and see if the pros can come and rescue your pansy ass. But you might not want to make a phone call, that is the kind of thing that can tip Mr. Whack-a-Doodle over the edge, and we don't want that. So, can you reach emergency services with a text message from your smartphone? Well, yes, no, maybe so:

Currently, most public safety answering points (PSAPs) cannot accept 911 calls via text message. However, efforts are underway to make this service more widely available to provide more access to 911 for people with disabilities and those in situations when it is dangerous to make a voice call to request help. In 2014, the four largest wireless service providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon), in conjunction with the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), agreed to provide all 911 call centers with the ability to receive texts. Since then, nearly 1,000 PSAPs across the nation have configured systems to receive text message requests for 911 services. - 911.gov