When/Why have you called 999.
Discussion
Just read a topic about calling in drunk drivers and it made me think of all the times I've dialled 999 and I wondered about other people:
Here's mine (all motoring as it happens)
1. c1996. Big traffic jam on motorway. We stop in lane one, idiot in lane 3 doesn't brake in time, locks up and slides across carriageway hitting the side of our car.
2. c2000. Massive pile up on a dual carriage way on opposite side. Looked like at least one car was on its roof. Not good.
3. 2003. Driving through Brighton, see what looks like a 15/16 year old driving the other way. Gave vehicle description.
4. 2006. Driving home on motorway in dark. Driver ahead is weaving as if under the influence. Take a sliproad, park and call it in. (I was alone in my car and didn't have a handsfree kit.)
5. 2006. Driving home on dual carriageway in winter. I'm in lane 2 when a fool joins from a sliproad cutting up a car up in lane one who swerves into lane 2 in front of an old dear. The old dear hits the anchors, locks up and slides into the central reservation spinning the car and sending the bumper flying. I'm the next car behind her but manage to bring my car (full of 5 adults and therefore heavy) to a safe stop - I like big brakes!! We cleared the carriage way, pushed her car to the side and called it in, waiting for police to arrive to look after shaken up old dear and to give a statement.
Here's mine (all motoring as it happens)
1. c1996. Big traffic jam on motorway. We stop in lane one, idiot in lane 3 doesn't brake in time, locks up and slides across carriageway hitting the side of our car.
2. c2000. Massive pile up on a dual carriage way on opposite side. Looked like at least one car was on its roof. Not good.
3. 2003. Driving through Brighton, see what looks like a 15/16 year old driving the other way. Gave vehicle description.
4. 2006. Driving home on motorway in dark. Driver ahead is weaving as if under the influence. Take a sliproad, park and call it in. (I was alone in my car and didn't have a handsfree kit.)
5. 2006. Driving home on dual carriageway in winter. I'm in lane 2 when a fool joins from a sliproad cutting up a car up in lane one who swerves into lane 2 in front of an old dear. The old dear hits the anchors, locks up and slides into the central reservation spinning the car and sending the bumper flying. I'm the next car behind her but manage to bring my car (full of 5 adults and therefore heavy) to a safe stop - I like big brakes!! We cleared the carriage way, pushed her car to the side and called it in, waiting for police to arrive to look after shaken up old dear and to give a statement.
Edited by mrmr96 on Monday 13th August 17:10
good one....! I'm not shy in calling 999 when I have seen something that could cause a serious accident, so here's mine:
1 - driving my dad's brand new 5 series, old boy on forecourt hits auto accelerator instead of brake, tears out in front leaving a matter of feet, then and gets side swiped full on by oncoming berlingo.
2 - 6 or 7 Pigs on the road by side of A133 dual carriageway, am rushour, Colchester.
3 - Suspected drunk drivers on numerous occasions.
4 - Double articulated Skip lorry's second trailer was dancing (going on 2 wheels one side, then 2 wheels the other side) whilst doing 60 mph down the A12 over both lane 1 and 2.
5 - numerous occasions of debris on road (dangerous sized debris that is!) such as a patio chair in middle lane of 3 lane A12 Brentwood
6 - bright spark changing tyre in Lane 3 of M25
1 - driving my dad's brand new 5 series, old boy on forecourt hits auto accelerator instead of brake, tears out in front leaving a matter of feet, then and gets side swiped full on by oncoming berlingo.
2 - 6 or 7 Pigs on the road by side of A133 dual carriageway, am rushour, Colchester.
3 - Suspected drunk drivers on numerous occasions.
4 - Double articulated Skip lorry's second trailer was dancing (going on 2 wheels one side, then 2 wheels the other side) whilst doing 60 mph down the A12 over both lane 1 and 2.
5 - numerous occasions of debris on road (dangerous sized debris that is!) such as a patio chair in middle lane of 3 lane A12 Brentwood
6 - bright spark changing tyre in Lane 3 of M25
Within the last year:
1) Car about 50m in front of us left road and rolled at c. 85 on the M5 last year. Bloody scary, muchos BiB, fire and ambulance services on scene v fast etc. Amazingly worst injury was a bad scalp lac - bad enough that it looked quite a lot like compound skull fracture.
2) Numerous debris-in-road situations; including a mattress in lane 3 of the M62 causing some pretty scary braking/swerving.
3) Friend had an unusually bad epileptic seizure which didn't stop in the normal time - new pants moment that, it was like she was dying in front of us. Is fine now.
4) Saw something at the side of the M40 that looked enough like a prone biker next to a bike at the side of the road that I decided it needed called in.
1) Car about 50m in front of us left road and rolled at c. 85 on the M5 last year. Bloody scary, muchos BiB, fire and ambulance services on scene v fast etc. Amazingly worst injury was a bad scalp lac - bad enough that it looked quite a lot like compound skull fracture.
2) Numerous debris-in-road situations; including a mattress in lane 3 of the M62 causing some pretty scary braking/swerving.
3) Friend had an unusually bad epileptic seizure which didn't stop in the normal time - new pants moment that, it was like she was dying in front of us. Is fine now.
4) Saw something at the side of the M40 that looked enough like a prone biker next to a bike at the side of the road that I decided it needed called in.
mrmr96 said:
Just read a topic about calling in drunk drivers and it made me think of all the times I've dialled 999 and I wondered about other people:
Here's mine (all motoring as it happens)
...
4. 2006. Driving home on motorway in dark. Driver ahead is weaving as if under the influence. Take a sliproad, park and call it in. (I was alone in my car and didn't have a handsfree kit.)
It is expressly permitted to use non-handsfree in (such an) emergency situation - StreakyHere's mine (all motoring as it happens)
...
4. 2006. Driving home on motorway in dark. Driver ahead is weaving as if under the influence. Take a sliproad, park and call it in. (I was alone in my car and didn't have a handsfree kit.)
Off duty on foot chasing two car thieves who ha woken me in the night. I got a trainee operator. Had an argument. Lost them. Had another argument with them operator finally spoke to someone I knew and got 2 patrols within 2 mins.
Our control rooms are not always as effective as they could be.
Our control rooms are not always as effective as they could be.
Spotted 2 yoofs creaping down the side of my garden at night "looking like they were up to no good" & called the police.
Too 6 minutes to answer the phone (yes I called 999). SIX minutes± About 2 mins later there was 1 police car, few minutes later another few, then a dog handler, then a van, then a helicopter.
It was all very exciting!
Anyway, the 6 minutes was obviously too long as although they did break in to a neighbour's house, the commotion scared them off. I was quite surprised at the effort put into catching the knobends, but at the same time thought how it wasn't quite fair the phone wasn't answered in a reasonable timeframe. I dread to think had it have been a real emergency...
Actually, that was the night I met a police dog face to face - now *that* was a scary moment! "Don't move" the man said... not sure if he included bowl movements in that command!
Too 6 minutes to answer the phone (yes I called 999). SIX minutes± About 2 mins later there was 1 police car, few minutes later another few, then a dog handler, then a van, then a helicopter.
It was all very exciting!
Anyway, the 6 minutes was obviously too long as although they did break in to a neighbour's house, the commotion scared them off. I was quite surprised at the effort put into catching the knobends, but at the same time thought how it wasn't quite fair the phone wasn't answered in a reasonable timeframe. I dread to think had it have been a real emergency...
Actually, that was the night I met a police dog face to face - now *that* was a scary moment! "Don't move" the man said... not sure if he included bowl movements in that command!
Mr_annie_vxr said:
Off duty on foot chasing two car thieves who ha woken me in the night. I got a trainee operator. Had an argument. Lost them. Had another argument with them operator finally spoke to someone I knew and got 2 patrols within 2 mins.
Our control rooms are not always as effective as they could be.
Quite. I have had several complete let-downs by them, and my skipper recently had a similar job when the operator said they would get a unit there "within 20 mins". But I'm chasing a car thief down the road NOW!Our control rooms are not always as effective as they could be.
I think the problem is that our control rooms are inundated with such shite that should never be called in, let alone on 999, that they find it hard to switch on to "Good job" mode...
Called when a couple of guys on a motorbike were doing wheelies and pulling endo's up and down the road I lived on, Police did respond and got there only minutes after they hit a truck whilst doing a high speed wheelie, rider's injuries were serious passenger's were fatal.
Called after a drunk driver nearly run both a friend and myself over having already collided with a few cars and then finally crashing head on into a lamp post, my call probably saved the guys life I sure he would have been beaten up by the owners of the cars he trashed.
Called after spotting a suspected drunk driver weaving over the North Circular and then Northbound on the A4005 towards Alperton, car was in a state showing signs of impact damage to the front.
Called in a road rage incident near Highgate where a guy ran out of a White saloon car and then proceeded to attempt to attack a bus driver then when the bus pulled away he got back into his car and followed the bus running a red light at the same time.
Called after a drunk driver nearly run both a friend and myself over having already collided with a few cars and then finally crashing head on into a lamp post, my call probably saved the guys life I sure he would have been beaten up by the owners of the cars he trashed.
Called after spotting a suspected drunk driver weaving over the North Circular and then Northbound on the A4005 towards Alperton, car was in a state showing signs of impact damage to the front.
Called in a road rage incident near Highgate where a guy ran out of a White saloon car and then proceeded to attempt to attack a bus driver then when the bus pulled away he got back into his car and followed the bus running a red light at the same time.
Called when I drove round a corner and nearly ran a pished bloke over
who was lying with his feet in the gutter and his head in the road - plod and ambulance arrived within 10 minutes - plod even turning LEFT into the other part of the one way system, despite me having said to turn RIGHT
Steve
who was lying with his feet in the gutter and his head in the road - plod and ambulance arrived within 10 minutes - plod even turning LEFT into the other part of the one way system, despite me having said to turn RIGHT
Steve
1996 as a student in Manchester. Went round to my girlfriend's house late on a Friday night to see a bloke I half recognised trying to get into the front door. Went up to say hello, he turned around clearly off his face on something and pulled out a knife. Hasty exit was made and legged it off to the phone box. Two minutes later 4 cars and 2 vans arrived and they took the guy down very hard with no hesitation. Fantastic stuff, still makes me smile to recall his head hitting the ground.
Other stuff has been more mundane:
60 year old-ish man sitting in his car with his wife in a Homebase car park, supping on a can of beer.
Happy baby being bounced on the knee of a girl in the back of a car driving down a dual carriageway.
eta: and the driver on the M40, left hand on steering wheel, right hand holding huge video camera whilst filming out the windscreen and side windows. Very strange behaviour.
Other stuff has been more mundane:
60 year old-ish man sitting in his car with his wife in a Homebase car park, supping on a can of beer.
Happy baby being bounced on the knee of a girl in the back of a car driving down a dual carriageway.
eta: and the driver on the M40, left hand on steering wheel, right hand holding huge video camera whilst filming out the windscreen and side windows. Very strange behaviour.
Edited by broadhat on Monday 13th August 22:02
Few years ago now, in the days of analogue car phones:
Driving down the still-to-be-dualled A46 Lincoln/Newark late on night on the way to Heathrow, caught up with an overloaded Transit gypowagen. Partner and I decided that the load of scrap on the back looked very dangerous. As I was on the phone to 999 a cast iron bath fell off the back onto the road between us - sparks everywhere. Even though we were keeping what we thought was a very conservative safe distance, the bath bouncing down the road at us still required avoiding action!
We overtook as quick as we could and for as long as we could see the Transit didn't stop - don't know what happened after that, except that we spent the next fortnight in the Bahamas.
Driving down the still-to-be-dualled A46 Lincoln/Newark late on night on the way to Heathrow, caught up with an overloaded Transit gypowagen. Partner and I decided that the load of scrap on the back looked very dangerous. As I was on the phone to 999 a cast iron bath fell off the back onto the road between us - sparks everywhere. Even though we were keeping what we thought was a very conservative safe distance, the bath bouncing down the road at us still required avoiding action!
We overtook as quick as we could and for as long as we could see the Transit didn't stop - don't know what happened after that, except that we spent the next fortnight in the Bahamas.
1. BMW lost it outside my work and ended up embedded under a HGV trailer, cue multiple shunt in lane 2 as people slowed to look 
2. Very and obviously drunk driver in my place of work. Full respect to police who patrolled past garage then came in for a fuller description, within 5 minutes.
3. Very serious and nasty RTA outside my place of work, all 3 services present within 5 minutes.
Everytime I have had to dial 999 I have been very impressed with the speed and profesionalism of the response. Hats off to you guys, you do a great job in the most difficult circumstances.
2. Very and obviously drunk driver in my place of work. Full respect to police who patrolled past garage then came in for a fuller description, within 5 minutes.
3. Very serious and nasty RTA outside my place of work, all 3 services present within 5 minutes.
Everytime I have had to dial 999 I have been very impressed with the speed and profesionalism of the response. Hats off to you guys, you do a great job in the most difficult circumstances.
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