NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30643601/

Wow. This is how a 911 system can fail. Note to self don't get lost in Australia.

what part of "lost in the wilderness" did they not quite get?

I'm glad to see the Duke of Edinburgh is continuing with his eugenics program. Well done.

Let me get this straight.
In Australia, a land filled mostly with what we could best describe as "not streets", the computer system of the "911" service only allows help to be dispatched to streets.

And this is the first time something went wrong ???

Yep the NSW system was pretty crap.

Now this happened awhile ago but I read that during the investigation the person taking the call thought the boy was pulling a prank and thus wasn't taking him seriously.

How about this: treat all calls as if they are not pranks, and through pranksters in jail for a week or two?

How about this: treat all calls as if they are not pranks, and through pranksters in jail for a week or two?

I believe they are meant to treat all calls as if they are real.

How about this: treat all calls as if they are not pranks, and through pranksters in jail for a week or two?

Doesn't that already happen?

Let me get this straight.
In Australia, a land filled mostly with what we could best describe as "not streets", the computer system of the "911" service only allows help to be dispatched to streets.

And this is the first time something went wrong ???

Other times they just quietly deleted the tapes and assured the public he didnt call for help.

Don't cell phones have GPS chips in them, nowadays? I've had to call 911 to report an accident on the highway (a couple of years ago, with my old phone), and they knew exactly where I was when I called, because of the GPS chip.

Don't cell phones have GPS chips in them, nowadays? I've had to call 911 to report an accident on the highway (a couple of years ago, with my old phone), and they knew exactly where I was when I called, because of the GPS chip.

They can triangulate your location between towers.
Though if he is in the desert lost he might have only had one tower (need at least two to triangulate)

They can triangulate your location between towers.
Though if he is in the desert lost he might have only had one tower (need at least two to triangulate)

That's not how cell phone location finding works.

The cell phone tower is not equipped with a directional antenna - it has no purpose. What can be done is to see how many cell phone towers can see the phone, and what the locations of these towers are. By knowing their signal strength and radius of usable transmission, we can approximate where the circles overlap and find the approximate location of the cell phone.

In short, you'd need at least 3, and more would be better.

Wow. Apart from the apalling behavior of the call center, he should never have separated from the other two. Some experienced hiker...

Don't cell phones have GPS chips in them, nowadays? I've had to call 911 to report an accident on the highway (a couple of years ago, with my old phone), and they knew exactly where I was when I called, because of the GPS chip.

maybe... but remember...

Dialing from deep in a gorge, Iredale's connection kept dropping out, ambulance officers told coroner Carl Milovanovich, who began his inquiry last month.
so getting a fix may have been impossible.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30643601/

Wow. This is how a 911 system can fail. Note to self don't get lost in Australia.


This never happened when skippy was in charge.

Wow. Apart from the apalling behavior of the call center, he should never have separated from the other two. Some experienced hiker...

I'm glad someone else said it...

I'm glad someone else said it...I'm going to be running a survival themed RPG with my English conversation class next week. If they don't manage to use the buddy system, they will be penalized.

I'm going to be running a survival themed RPG with my English conversation class next week. If they don't manage to use the buddy system, they will be penalized.


You mean Germans don't always follow the rules.....?

You mean Germans don't always follow the rules.....?
It'll be a secret rule =D

We need to invade Australian and institute a proper American 911 system.

We need to invade Australian and institute a proper American 911 system.


9/11 system? You mean ignoring the warnings before and going overboard after?

9/11 system? You mean ignoring the warnings before and going overboard after?

sounds about right.

9/11 system? You mean ignoring the warnings before and going overboard after?

Sounds good. Let's get started! Step 1: Ensure the safety of Ben Croshaw...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30643601/

Wow. This is how a 911 system can fail. Note to self don't get lost in Australia.
Well, it's a government service. What would you expect? Perfection? Ha!

Well, it's a government service. What would you expect? Perfection? Ha!

better privatize 9/11

Mobile phone coverage can be pretty poor outside metro areas, so out in the bush where he was lost, I'm surprised he could get a signal at all. Having said that, it was pretty appalling of the 000 operator to keep insisting on a street address. The different states within Aus have different 000 systems, so it might only be NSW (where he died) that requires a street address be entered into its computer system before an ambulance can be dispatched.

better privatize 9/11
I'd no-bid a contract like that. There's just no way to be profitable and serve everyone perfectly. But the government has a different agenda and it's all colored by the personal politics of the bureaucrats that run the different departments. For us to expect anything close to perfect service from the government is silly.