'Butt dials' - a strain on US emergency systems

[PoliticAverse]

When San Francisco's Department of Emergency Management noticed a surge in 911 calls, it was desperate to know why.

Had the city experienced a surge in crime? Violence? Fear? Or was there some other trend at play causing call volumes to increase by 28% between 2011 and 2014?

It was important to understand what was going on, because while calls were increasing, staffing levels were staying flat, and the system was struggling under the pressure.

...

In a report just published, the research team reveals that the issue of butt-dialling - that is, accidentally making calls on your mobile phone - is a major frustration and strain on the 911 call handlers.

Read the rest at: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34441043

[tularetom]

1. I've butt dialed as much as the next guy but my butt is not smart enough to dial 911

It pretty much confines itself to dialing people on my contact list.

[yeoman6987]

7. I've butt dialed too but thankfully never 911.

Most of the time it's my sister.

[dembotoz]

2. also sometimes a problem when you dial9 for and outside line...

no system is perfect

[lpbk2713]

3. I've taken more pics of the inside of my pocket than anything else, by far.

[PoliticAverse]

5. Carlos Danger is that you? n/t

[ZM90]

4. I've had this happen. I would walk around with my phone in my pocket and the phone would press the

emergency dialer. It is slightly annoying because I have to explain that I'm fine and that my phone had pressed it's emergency dialer while it was in my pocket.

[pintobean]

6. My butt dials have always been to the last number I'd called

and it always happened when working. To solve the problem, I call voice mail after every call, and quickly hang up. I probably still make butt dialed calls, but I've stopped getting complaint calls abut it.

[KamaAina]

8. My phone has a 911 button on it

but it asks "Are you sure you want to dial 911?" before proceeding. (I discovered this one evening when a fight broke out on the light rail platform where I was waiting for a train.)

Also, I keep my phone in the front pocket.

[msongs]

10. yay for front pockets on cargo shorts. let non-americans deride us for that lol nt

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Isn't there an emergency dial button on most phones?

I've never used it and frankly haven't read much into it, but does it automatically go to 911?

Several times I'll enter the passcode on my phone and my finger slips and I hit the "Emergency Dial" button. Fortunately, another box appears to the effect of "Make Emergency Call?" and I'll click no or cancel, but still I could see a lot of situations where a person might not catch the cancel call button.