I've been listening to WSM a lot in the past few days and I've been hearing a commercial that is one of the worst I've ever heard from 911. There is a sound of someone playing their guitar and a string breaking. The voiceover then informs us that breaking a string is a Nashville problem, while having your house broken into is a 911 problem. We then get a lecture about the difference between "Nashville problems" and "911 problems", followed by another stupid clip of the differences between something you should actually call 911 for and something totally stupid. Is this really a problem in Nashville? They've been running these types of ads for years, and I find them to be insulting. I realize that maybe we need to educate people about when it's appropriate to call 911, but wouldn't it make more sense to talk about actual situations where someone would mistakenly call 911 and explain that they should have called the local police department instead rather than giving examples only an idiot would actually do? I mean, come on, how many people would actually call 911 because their guitar string broke?
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Rant About Annoying 911 Commercial on WSM
- Thread starter oldiesgirl
- Start date
Perhaps they are having a bit of fun with these PSAs, but in reality, they are not far off. Some that I can remember off hand from personal experience...
Calling 911 for directions to Arby's (I had one that called for directions to Domino's Pizza, too)
Calling 911 for directory assistance (guessing they didn't want to pay for it)
I have answered some genuine emergency calls and I've answered some that weren't so much emergencies, but people from out-of-town that didn't know the non-emergency number and needed law enforcement attention. I only answered a fraction of these calls, so I'm sure there's more unusual things people call for.
In a small community, there's could only be one 911 call taker that is also receiving calls from the non-emergency number as well and answering the radio and typing things in the computer for officers. When that 911 phone rings, they don't mess around to answer it.
Calling 911 for directions to Arby's (I had one that called for directions to Domino's Pizza, too)
Calling 911 for directory assistance (guessing they didn't want to pay for it)
I have answered some genuine emergency calls and I've answered some that weren't so much emergencies, but people from out-of-town that didn't know the non-emergency number and needed law enforcement attention. I only answered a fraction of these calls, so I'm sure there's more unusual things people call for.
In a small community, there's could only be one 911 call taker that is also receiving calls from the non-emergency number as well and answering the radio and typing things in the computer for officers. When that 911 phone rings, they don't mess around to answer it.
Hippie Radio is running those, too.
My aunt in east Tennessee (who is now 87 years old) is one who would call 911 in her county over frivolous things like that. Apparently, she did not know what it was actually for.
I actually once had the reverse situation. Tried to call my local city hall about a low-hanging wire in the street following a storm, and they said that I needed to call 911 about it! (I did, but they were already swamped with other emergencies!)
My aunt in east Tennessee (who is now 87 years old) is one who would call 911 in her county over frivolous things like that. Apparently, she did not know what it was actually for.
I actually once had the reverse situation. Tried to call my local city hall about a low-hanging wire in the street following a storm, and they said that I needed to call 911 about it! (I did, but they were already swamped with other emergencies!)
Wow, I didn't know it was actually common. I've heard about dumb 911 calls on the internet, but I thought it was a rare thing. I miss the old 862-8600 PSA's they ran when I was in high school. The jingle still pops into my head from time to time, and I catch myself singing it. I wish I could hear it again.
The non-emergency number would be perfect for that. This especially true after-hours when the city offices are closed. In our city (a small town outside of Austin, Texas), the police department took calls from the water department after hours.
The 862-8600 number won't work for me now, as I now no longer live in metro Nashville. But I have on occasion used that number when I lived in Nashville. I have even used it once since I moved out, when I noticed a guy stopped by the side of the road one night. I was on my way to work that night, so I called the non-emergency number to let them know about him. He apparently had had car trouble and was trying to flag me down, but I did not have time to stop, and could not have helped him if I had. At least he was in a well-lit area. Even though I have moved out of the county, he was stopped at an intersection in Bellevue, so he was still in metro.
Considering people have called 911 because McDonald's didn't get their order right, it would not surprise me to find out that someone called 911 over a broken string.
Caller to Directory Assistance: I a got a mergency, what's the number for 911??? 
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