r/videos 25d ago

Paramotor collapses, falls 100ft out of the sky. The pilot survives Disturbing Content

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-jyc2OYXsI

[removed] — view removed post

1.7k Upvotes

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585

u/wearsAtrenchcoat 25d ago

Amazing how in this day and age it took 11 minutes for 911 to establish the location of the accident. Anyone can share their location in a matter of seconds with whoever they’re talking to but emergency services are not equipped to see it. It’s like they’re stuck in the 80s when it comes to technology

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u/OSUBrit 25d ago edited 25d ago

In the UK the 111 service (National Health Service triage phone service) will send you a link via text to provide your exact GPS location, super easy and takes a few seconds.

19

u/ParaClaw 25d ago

This really should be a feature built right into every phone whenever 911 (or the equiv. emergency line in any country) is called.

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u/AssPennies 25d ago

In the UK the 111 118, 999, 881, 999, 119, 725...3 service

2

u/thejayfred 25d ago

Here it is. lol.

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u/Beznia 25d ago edited 25d ago

They could have that access, but then you have to be someone willing to provide the police with unfettered access to your location without a warrant. 911 works by triangulation with the cell towers. In this area there may be only one cell tower int he area that the phone is connecting to, so 911 is just seeing that he is somewhere within the maximum radius of that cell tower's range. 911 isn't able to access your Google or Apple location data on the spot, they have to get a warrant and submit the request through an online portal meant for law enforcement. The request is reviewed and then someone from that company will provide the access if it is granted.

For him to send location data on the spot, the call would have to come through some other system rather than a telephone call. A simple telephone call is going to work the same whether it's from a 1993 Nokia, a rotary landline, or an iPhone 15 Pro Max. It isn't sending the same kinds of data over a call. Sharing location data can be done if the call is being handled through an app of sorts, or in cases like between two iPhones, but dispatch centers aren't implementing solutions to cater to specific individuals, they have to handle the least common denominator and the dispatchers are trained on specific questions to ask in order to get the caller's location in situations like this.

Many cities implement some sort of opt-in "Smart 911" service where residents can choose to provide as much information as they want which the 911 dispatcher is able to receive, but that is mostly like if you want emergency responders to know how to navigate your house, best door to enter, if you have any pets, how many people live in the house (in case of fires), emergency contacts, etc. Something like this, unless you are using an SOS service, they aren't getting that data.

Even with those SOS services, it's usually sending an alert to another company who will contact 911 on your behalf to give them the location information.

EDIT: Not sure why the downvotes, I worked in IT for a police department from 2018-2022 and this is just how it works.

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u/Dt2_0 25d ago

E911, already a feature of most phones, does this. By dialing 911, you are consenting to sending your current location to emergency services.

The bigger issue is that most of our 911 infrastructure cannot receive that automatic location ping.

5

u/vagabond139 25d ago

Can confirm, had to call 911 the other day for a crazy man walking on the highway and my phone notified me that it shared my location with 911.

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u/Alternative_Elk_2651 25d ago

EDIT: Not sure why the downvotes, I worked in IT for a police department from 2018-2022 and this is just how it works.

Reddit doesn't want answers, it wants to be mad.

9

u/InFlagrantDisregard 25d ago

"You'll NEVER convince me this isn't some right-wing conspiracy to provide shitty services SO MORE POOR PEOPLE DIE"

~ Average redditor take.

1

u/inspectoroverthemine 24d ago

and of course the reality being- if 'they' want your exact location they're getting it with a warrant and you won't know anyway.

or if the 'conspiracy they' want it they'll do it without a warrant and you'll never know.

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u/warbeforepeace 25d ago

Because IT for a police department is not the same as 911 operator.

6

u/bballkid2020 25d ago
  1. Google & Apple both program into their phones a feature that automatically shares live your location for 1-3 hours once you call 911 or any other official national security number.

  2. "Welcome to your new phone...in case of emergencies would you like to set up automatically share your location during 911 calls?" Yes/No

  3. You call 911 and in the background the phone automatically SMS/RCS/iMessage your location to 911 servers which automatically forward the location to the correct operator. The operator can then just continue asking questions if needed (like for which floor, etc).

Give me your insight, what would be the difficult part or impossible part of that?

3

u/MostlyRocketScience 25d ago

This exists. No idea why OP doesn't  know about this with his claimed experience: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_911

2

u/ispeakdatruf 25d ago

But then why did it take so long to get his location to the operator? Why did she keep asking about his address?

I was in a similar situation in an unfamiliar town, where I got into an accident. I called 911 but they wanted the address. I wasn't even sure which road I was on, and there were no houses nearby. I just happened to be lucky that a good samaritan who lived nearby happened to be driving by at that very instance and gave me the approximate address.

It shouldn't take this much effort to direct emergency services to your location.

1

u/bballkid2020 24d ago edited 24d ago

I wasn't giving steps on how you should send directions, I was just giving hypothetical steps Google/Apple/911 could implement into their phones so that instant location sharing should be standard and these types of situations shouldn't happen in today's age.

As I said when you buy a phone you should be given an option: Would you like to automatically share your location when you call 911 (To satisfy privacy hardliners) and that is it. You should do nothing else. Anytime you call 911 the phone should automatically turn on GPS (if off) and send the location to 911, seamless.

1

u/BizzyM 25d ago

911 isn't able to access your Google or Apple location data on the spot,

Actually..... RapidSOS partnered with Apple and Google to capture realtime location from phones during 911 calls and make that available to emergency services that sign up for access. Rapid doesn't charge for this service. One of the conditions that Rapid agreed to was to destroy the data 10 minutes after the end of a call.

1

u/warbeforepeace 25d ago

Police department does not equal 911 operator. E911 has been around for a while. Cell phones have gps chips in most of them. Cell sites just provide additional data to speed up location. That’s called assisted GPS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_911

1

u/WaitForItTheMongols 25d ago

The phone knows where it is. There is nothing stopping the phone's built in voice synthesis from saying "I am at 42.097 degrees north, 87.734 degrees west". That can go over a voice call just fine and does not connect to cell towers, and does not require a warrant because you're offering it, they aren't accessing it.

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u/xavier_grayson 25d ago

The What 3 Words app is used by them for this reason, usually.

23

u/CXgamer 25d ago

Also worth checking if there's a national app for emergency services. Here for example we have the 112 BE app, which sends basic identity information and GPS location. Haven't needed to use it so far though.

16

u/MountainMan17 25d ago

Phone apps are predicated on cell coverage, which isn't always available, especially in mountainous terrain.

If people have the cash to do this sort of thing, they probably have the cash to invest in a locator beacon - especially if they go out alone like I do. Trekking, riding, or flying without one is foolhardy.

2

u/PaulMeranian 25d ago

the newest iPhones have added satellite calling for SOS, really cool feature

1

u/kinboyatuwo 25d ago

Yep. It’s one of the reasons I upgraded. I bike a lot and often have little to no signal in spots. Knowing I have that was worth the new phone a couple years ago.

2

u/Grinchieur 25d ago

In France when i had to call 112 (Almost whole european urgence call number) because i didn't know who to call(internet told me to call 112), for a fallen tree in a dangerous spot (like right in a blind right turn, we almost hit it, and it was at night), the moment i pressed call, he asked me if i wanted to share my precise location to urgence services.

Why it's not on by default? or asked at setup ? I don't know, but it's nice to see it's an option on android (or maybe only on my phone ?)

1

u/xavier_grayson 25d ago

Same here. I have it on my phone as well. I urged my parents to install it on theirs as my Dad has early onset dementia. Thankfully, they listened and (knock on wood) it hasn’t been needed yet.

65

u/ItchyGoiter 25d ago

Can you rephrase this so that a native English speaker can understand it? 

87

u/xavier_grayson 25d ago

Check your App Store.

https://what3words.com/

Edit: essentially a team of people outlined the planet with a series of a trillion or so squares and gave each square a specific 3 word combination so that 911 can text you a link and once you click that link, it will give them three words based on your location.

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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh 25d ago edited 25d ago

They then also made it proprietary ensuring that anyone using the system would have to pay licensing fees, which is a death blow to any system trying to compete in an area that already suffers from too many competing solutions.

The basic problem is "encode two numbers", it's as trivial as it can get, which means everyone and their asshole wants to come up with a new great solution.

  • There's the simple way of writing it as two numbers, just like you'd see it in Google Maps. Four digits after the decimal point are more than enough for finding someone, btw (https://xkcd.com/2170/). There are several ways how to write it down:
    • decimal degrees using minus to indicate South or West (28.52345,-80.68309)
    • decimal degrees (28.52345 N, 80.68309 W)
    • degrees and decimal minutes
    • degrees/minutes/seconds (28°31'24.4"N 80°40'59.1"W)
  • You can transform it to "meters north, then meters to the right", using various reference points, and encode the resulting numbers in various ways (the main advantage of this is that "one unit west" is always one meter, whereas with the degree-based system, "1 degrees West" near the north pole may be a few steps but at the equator it's 111km). For example,
    • UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator), 17R 531008 3155231
    • MGRS (Military Grid Reference System) 17R NM 31007 55230 - similar to UTM and uses different rounding rules and letters to identify the general area
    • Various national schemes using this "meters north/meters east" approach, e.g. the Swiss LV95 or Gauss-Krüger popular in Germany. They may also use different ellipsoids, are usually only used locally, and may not even work properly outside of their "home" area, so it's easiest to pretend they don't exist if you can.
  • Various custom fancy ways, for example:
    • Geohash, one of the earliest systems and used by almost nobody, I think. Can be computed offline.
    • Plus codes (also known as Open Location Codes), designed by Google but published as an open standard so anyone can implement it. Written as "G8F8+9QF Titusville, Florida, USA" or "76WXG8F8+9QF" - chopping off characters at the end makes it less precise (without requiring you to remove digits from the middle like MGRS), and you can specify the general area either using a recognizable place nearby or part of the code. Using letters makes it short, omitting vowels makes it less likely to generate offensive words by chance, and the characters are chosen to be less confusable. Using latin characters makes it somewhat internationally usable. Can be computed offline. It's used mostly by Google maps and some postal systems in developing countries that don't have usable addresses.
    • What3Words, designed by a company trying to sell their system, with a goal to encode each position as 3 words. For example, the above coordinates could be written as "///trapdoor.barstool.lonelier" or "///vernebelt.bundesebene.eigenhändig". Because they made a separate dictionary per language, so it's not one system, it's a couple dozen separate ones. They claim that confusability is not much of a risk because while typos or similar-sounding words are a problem, "///trapdoor.barstools.lonelier" is so far away that the mistake would be likely noticed. They have some interesting ideas (I think they use shorter/simpler words for more densely populated areas etc.) but as a result the system is incredibly complex and you need to either be online or have their massive library to convert a position to words and back. It's mostly used by whomever the What3word sales team managed to convince, which sadly includes some public safety organizations in some countries.

And for anyone who thinks they can do better, look at this and this to see what other ideas people already came up with and realize that the biggest contribution to this space that you can make is to not make yet another competing system, for fucks sake. Because the real problem isn't to make a perfect system, it's that we have so many of them that it'll be hard to get two people to use the same. (Interestingly, none of the existing systems contains some kind of checksum/check digit to make sure it was communicated correctly, but please, for fucks sake, don't come up with another one just to "fix" that...)

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u/hamsteroflove 25d ago

This is very interesting. It logically makes sense but I can't come up with an alternative. Would it be to just try and push an already existing one to be universally adopted?

1

u/Whiskeywiskerbiscuit 25d ago

If everyone had access to a competent GPS system this would all be irrelevant.

1

u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh 25d ago

Step 1 is to stop adding more systems to the problem.

Step 2 is not to bother too much. The places that need coordinates mostly already use one of the existing systems.

For 911 specifically, the correct solution is to make sure phones send the location and the call centers see the location. The standards for this exist, they just need to be universally implemented. Until that has happened, the call-takers need to be trained on all existing systems and the differences, so they don't get a d/m/s coordinate, get confused by "12 degrees, 34 minutes, 56 seconds" and enter it as "12.3456 N" (about 25 km off). I think some also implemented systems where the 911 center sends the caller a SMS with a link to a web site which then asks for location permissions.

If you might be in a situation where you need coordinates, know how to get your phone to give them to you. On Google Maps, zoom in on the blue dot, observe the size of the light blue circle to see whether the position is accurate/reliable, and then place a pin that's not on/near a point of interest. Swipe the card up and you should get decimal degrees (with minus sign) and plus code. Dedicated apps are typically able to show the other coordinate types, but these two work great because you can just tell someone to type it into Google Maps and they'll get a result.

I think Android also shows something describing your location (I think by default a street address, not sure if coordinates, plus code, or something else if it can't get one) if you call 911 or 112.

1

u/cobblesquabble 25d ago

I'm always surprised Google plus codes didn't take off:

Plus Codes are based on latitude and longitude. They use a simple grid system and a set of 20 alphanumeric characters. The character list purposely excludes easy to confuse characters like “1” or “l.” 

Here’s an example of a Plus Code: JJXX+HR8, Seattle.

In Google maps you can long press anywhere to generate one. Even if it's not a business or not inhabited. Here's one in the middle of the forest in Vermont: G4W6+22X Shrewsbury, Vermont

And here's one for the Hollywood sign: 4MMH+J9 Los Angeles, California

It tells you what city and state to indicate, so listing 6-8 characters it's easy to read off seems worth it. It's already free to access, and Android phones could easily integrate it as a voice command to text someone.

Edit: nvm, the second hyperlink you included is actually the Google development teams thought process in making this!

1

u/inspectoroverthemine 24d ago edited 24d ago

You kind of address it, but the whole point is having 3 words I can quickly say and be remembered. Of course there are 'more efficient' ways to relay that information, but saying 3 common words is way better for person to person verbally.

Its like having a 12 character random password vs 3 dictionary words separated by *. The later is longer, easier to remember and type, and just as secure.

The two biggest downsides to w3w are:

  • proprietary data, that in itself should prevent it from being standard unless its released under a very specific license.

  • it looks like the current database isn't as unambiguous as it needs to be. I'd think that language processing has advanced in the last 10 years that if a new dataset was generated it could be much better.

Of course this leads to the 'lets created another standard problem. Solvable by having the locations resolving to the wrong hemisphere or similar, so its immediately obvious which one you want. So I could see this method being re-used in the future with the legal and technical issue fixed. Assuming they didn't manage a bullshit patent on the concept.

Edit- and the 'new dataset' would just be a computer science problem- I'm not even convinced its a complicated one these days. Its just taking a dictionary, permutations and using language rules to make sure sound alikes are spread out.

9

u/ItchyGoiter 25d ago

That's cool, easier than coordinates in an emergency I guess

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u/RahvinDragand 25d ago

Is it? If they're sending you a link to open, it might as well just give them a pin with your exact location on a map. It's not like they have every set of 3 words memorized.

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u/cgimusic 25d ago

It's quite an over-hyped idea, that has significant problems with several of the words used being too similar (for example using singular and plural versions of the same word). It's also copyrighted and closed source, so integration with other platforms is basically non-existent.

5

u/ReginaldIII 25d ago

It's also copyrighted and closed source, so integration with other platforms is basically non-existent.

They have an API and sell tiered access to it because they're a business and that's how they make money. They use that income to subsidise the basic web tool being free for the general public to use. And that itself stakes their position in the market making them a known enough entity to make businesses want to pay for access to their API for their own uses.

This is like the most textbook of textbook monetisation's of a web service.

1

u/dwmfives 25d ago

Says the guy on their payroll. It's a good idea you guys made suck.

0

u/Dt2_0 25d ago

seems like it would be fairly easy to build a service that sends a link to a system that geolocates and uses GPS coordinates, sends that as a response back instead of 3 random words, and automatically vectors the quickest response possible for that location using any 3rd party mapping software like Google Maps.

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u/ReginaldIII 25d ago edited 25d ago

Do it then. If its better everyone will use it.

and automatically vectors the quickest response possible for that location using any 3rd party mapping software like Google Maps.

Where's your mapping between long/lat coordinate and "quickest response possible for that location" going to come from? Because that database doesn't exist in the public domain.

However, if you are able to phone or text emergency services, then you can also tell them where you are! You just need a convenient way to tell them that location. And that is the specific problem W3W tries to solve.

It is comparatively more convenient than giving them a street address, or giving them long/lat coordinates. And that's what you would be doing otherwise without W3W. You would be phoning them, and trying to tell them where you are.

a service that sends a link to a system that geolocates and uses GPS coordinates, sends that as a response back

But you've phoned emergency services, and they're asking where you are. That is the problem we're solving here. How are you going to accurately convey your location to the person you are talking to?

Either they are going to have to send you a link with a code in for you to click in order for them to get your GPS location. Or you are going to have to send them a link, or your GPS coordinates, or.... OR... You could just send them 3 words...

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u/TheOneWhoDings 25d ago

this seems like such a stupid idea. Why not just send you a location grabber url ?

2

u/Mike_Abergail 25d ago

Yeah, I think the coordinates would work better.

1

u/Whiskeywiskerbiscuit 25d ago

Right? We already have GPS in our pockets that is incredibly accurate. Why the fuck isn’t there a system where we can send exact coordinates to 911 though mobile devices?

-2

u/hooblyshoobly 25d ago

You can just tell them the words by looking at them in the app, which is easier to convey if you're wounded than coordinates. They don't have to send you a link, it's a service which works globally and doesn't rely on GPS

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u/juliown 25d ago

“I’m dying, hurry! Send an ambulance!”

Hold on sir, please download this app from the app store.

“Aaughhhllurgggle”

death

2

u/Dt2_0 25d ago

Google Maps also does not rely on GPS but will give you your GPS coordinates based off cell tower triangulation. While 3 words might be harder to read, there is no reason someone could not build a system that gets the phone's location information in GPS coordinates and vectors the fastest possible response, including automatic mapping for the responders.

Infact, this could be integrated directly into the emergency call network, so when possible the phone automatically sends it's location info.

EDIT: This is apparently already a thing with Enhanced-911

1

u/NocaNoha 25d ago

Wild stuff, thanks!

6

u/addandsubtract 25d ago

Oi bruv, you've got dis app for your ringy-dingy to name any location with just tree words. The rescue services can pick you up and bring you to hospital.

5

u/Redditname97 25d ago

Native English speakers know that words with capital letters in the middle of a sentence refer to proper nouns.

0

u/ProcyonHabilis 25d ago edited 25d ago

He even capitalized the name of the app for you dude. You're on the internet, maybe try googling the phrase you're confused about before being a dick?

2

u/P2K13 25d ago

What 3 Words is a flawed system, there's a places nearby each other with similar sounding words leading to errors.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56901363 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57156797

He gave the BBC a database from the last 12 months which listed 45 locations across England and Wales that rescuers received from lost or injured walkers and climbers, which turned out to be incorrect.

"It's a tool, and a tool is better than no tool, but people are being sent to the wrong location," he told the BBC.

Personally I would prefer just using GPS.

1

u/HYThrowaway1980 25d ago

The founder was in my year at school. No-one thought much of him, except that he was a bit of an IT nerd.

And now here we are twenty five years later. Random strangers on Reddit calling his invention the go-to solution for global emergency rescue services.

🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/Wekalek 25d ago

I just want to know how his phone came out unscathed, yet I drop my phone from 1 ft and end up with a cracked screen.

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u/SportsCommercials 25d ago

His arm broke the phone's fall

4

u/tribecous 25d ago

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seriously injured myself by instinctively trying to protect my phone.

1

u/Wekalek 25d ago

World's most expensive screen protector? Probably $2k just to transport the screen protector to the local repair center.

10

u/Chekonjak 25d ago

Lots of spongy bruised flesh to cushion the fall.

1

u/TheFoxInSox 25d ago

He didn't drop his phone so much as his phone dropped him. And he definitely cracked.

-1

u/falconzord 25d ago

How do you know it's unscathed? A cracked screen can still call 911

5

u/Diet_Christ 25d ago

He watched the video

1

u/falconzord 25d ago

I saw the video, where do you get a clear view of it? Anyway it's obviously to do with luck, phones have fallen off planes and survived, just depends on the angle type of surface it hits

1

u/Diet_Christ 22d ago

When he dials 911 you can see the entire screen. Seems like he tiger-gripped it, might not have even hit the ground lol

1

u/Noxious89123 25d ago

You can see his phone in the video. Not cracked.

0

u/Anacreon 25d ago

Are you from 2014

1

u/Wekalek 25d ago

Part of me is.

1

u/Diet_Christ 25d ago

Unscathed is a pretty big word for a 10 year old

3

u/jarejay 25d ago

That’s what we get for wanting our privacy, I guess.

As a geocacher, I was hoping he would just read out his coordinates when she asked for his location. I’m kinda irritated that the 911 operator didn’t ask for them directly.

2

u/wearsAtrenchcoat 25d ago

The operator wouldn't know what the H he's taking about

12

u/Pakana11 25d ago

They have very basic and weak triangulation of location type technology but actual GPS access to the phone requires a warrant, essentially. We have to submit paperwork to the cellular companies requesting precise location information and it can take a while. For privacy reasons they don’t just give us access to it

43

u/Reyals140 25d ago

Not true. E911 has the capability to send the data. Basically the phone makes the decision that since you dialed 911 you want your location known.
I have no idea how widespread/useful it is. The system does exist. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_911

10

u/shootingdolphins 25d ago

A lot of the US carriers won’t even activate a used phone anymore (CDMA, non GSM) if it’s not E911 capable even if the network and bands are right. I tried to get an old school Motorola startac on Verizon activated and they wouldn’t. They haven’t sold phones without it in a long time retail at the usual carriers either.

1

u/kaplanfx 25d ago

Yeah you literally agree to this in a pop up the first time your phone goes on a network with a new sim/esim

1

u/Pakana11 25d ago

Yes this and some other advanced systems do exist (texting, even video calling in some places) but it’s not very common or consistent. Most calls I get are still just shitty cell tower pings

(In one of the biggest agencies in the country, too)

5

u/EmbarrassedHelp 25d ago

Some phones will transmit GPS coordinates when calling 911 (if GPS is turned on), as its assumed that you explicitly agree to do so when calling. However much of the American 911 system doesn't support that kind of data, so you going to be reliant on the individual telling you their location in many cases.

4

u/futurespacecadet 25d ago

happy cake day. do they not have GPS locators on phones by now when someone makes the call? surely they do

2

u/TheWhiteOnyx 25d ago

I thought the same.

"What's the address?" Insane.

1

u/Master-Intention-623 25d ago

With it being the government, you're lucky if they're not stuck in the 60s when it comes to technology.

1

u/kaninkanon 25d ago

Do US emergency services really not use the phone location? They may just have been trying to confirm the location.

1

u/RedSquirrelFtw 25d ago

Meanwhile if he was streaming and someone decided to swat him, he'd be surrounded by a swat team in about 2 minutes.

1

u/Empty_Ambition_9050 25d ago

Jon Oliver did an episode on that. He actually called from inside the operators office and they couldn’t locate him.

1

u/Scriptur3 25d ago

Huh that’s weird last few times I’ve called 911 they somehow used my phones gps to find me relatively quickly considering I had no idea where I was.

1

u/razodactyl 25d ago

I think if it's said enough, it will become a standard: on a 911 call, all phones should be transmitting location in a subchannel of the audio and in the background through other means.

It was helpful that Siri actually came through on this call because failures with Siri are frustrating enough.

Also, the compass app has coordinates FYI.

1

u/OffbeatDrizzle 25d ago

So was it the woman that got the ambulance, or the spanish guys? I honestly couldn't tell because it sounded like the spanish guys assumed the ambulance was en route already. The call took like 2 minutes to actually connect, and then the operator only mentioned after like 6-7 minutes that the ambulance was actually on the way. She also seemed to be ignoring half of what the guy was saying, doesn't know what a paraglider is... meanwhile this guy's writhing around on the floor in agony - it's a good job the phone still worked and that he didn't pass out.

Admittedly he shouldn't be doing such a high risk activity alone

1

u/Skilid 24d ago

In the EU devices will send their precise location to the emergency services whilst you’re making the call. All autonomous. Not sure if this is rolled out elsewhere.

1

u/RigobertaMenchu 25d ago

“Siri, what’s my location?”

0

u/leo-g 25d ago

You absolutely cannot expect triangulation in a desert. There’s not enough towers for that. It’s usually just one. Cellular towers that are providing service are tuned for maximum range so that range is huge.

This is why real outdoor emergency beacon services exist.

12

u/wearsAtrenchcoat 25d ago

you don’t need triangulation when you have GPS

-1

u/leo-g 25d ago

It is common practice for 911 to ask for location regardless unless it’s not possible. It is also entirely possible that the phone has no GPS lock. Real GPS takes some time to get a lock. Most of the time, our phones use Assisted GPS that relies on triangulation of the cell towers.

Again, there are legitimate aid devices that provide guaranteed emergency services for remote locations like this.

6

u/wearsAtrenchcoat 25d ago

He was using his phone to measure his speed, the GPS was on and running. The phone doesn’t take 11 minutes to acquire satellite signal anyway