911-hoboken.jpgHave heard a few people (including the “aggressive driver” previously) who have had issues with the “911″ system we have in place here.

I personally feel that 911 should only be used when you don’t know the local police number(s), such as if you’re on the highway or in a town you’re not familiar with. Another person said “only call 911 in case of a murder”. But it’s always prudent to teach children how to use this service, as many kids have saved their parents when some mishap has occurred.

Also note that having a (non-GPS enabled) cell phone makes it harder for any emergency service to locate you.

Here’s what some Hoboken411 readers had to say about 911 recently:

“I recently needed to call 9-1-1- in Hoboken. I learned a valuable lesson, 9-1-1 isn’t the most efficient or effective way to get help in an emergency situation in Hoboken.

They didn’t answer until at least 6 or more rings. They could not locate me or my emergency as they thought I was in Jersey City. They had to call me back 4 or 5 times to locate me. They gave a poor description of the situation to the wrong police department. I think that about sums it up. Guy got away as a result.

Please inform and advise your readers that the fastest, most effective way to get help is to call the Hoboken Police Department directly at 201-420-2100. This is now #1 on my speed dial in case of another emergency situation.

While 9-1-1 should still be used, it is not the best way to get help fast in town.”

In another 911-related incident, here’s what a reader went through as their apartment was overcome with water during last weeks flash flooding rain storm:

hoboken-flooding-august-8-2007-9-rd.jpg“I had an emergency the other morning at 6:30 am. I promptly called 911 and waited. I waited a little longer. Finally after three minutes, an operator answered the phone. He said he would connect me to the Hoboken 911 switchboard. I waited again, a total of 6 minutes and 16 seconds. I finally hung up never talking with anyone. Someone else had called and they showed up. But, it’s a bit concerning to know I waited so long. Luckily I wasn’t being burglarized or being held at gun point.”

Are our emergency services equipped enough to handle a real emergency, if they can barely handle a 3 hour rain storm?
So unless it’s a dire emergency, it may be best to dial 411 and request to be connected to the local police instead.

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