Getting a Cell phone can save your life

Having one without using it...unless you need to

Most people see cell phones as an annoyance at the movies, a rude conversation interruption or lost time at meetings. But my view on them are a little different. I have one, everyone in my family has one, but i do not activate it or ever use it. Do I think I am cool or something? No, i don't think i am cool, but i know I am safe and smart and here is why:

Basic FCC 911 rules require cell phone providers to:

Transmit all 911 calls to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), regardless of whether the caller subscribes to the provider's service or not.

This means that from any location you have a right to the services of 911 even if your cellular phone is not active. Make sure to tell dispatchers your location as precisely as possible because unlike landlines (phones connected to telephone poles) they do not know your exact location. The FCC is making this a requirement but it still not applied yet, and may not be for awhile.

Also answer the dispatchers questions without argument because they are telling this information to medical staff en route to help you.

So I may not be cool or hip because I can't text or send dumb photos, but I know that if I ever need it, I have a device which may save my life, and the only cost was the price i paid for it. I don't have the budget for an activated cell phone, but I have the common sense to have one with me at all times. The same principal as having a fire detector in my home. I paid to have it, check to make sure the batteries are okay once in awhile. So I pay nothing to have this device which may someday save my life.

And the best part is, it was no more expensive than a good fire detector, and my wife and kids know they can use theirs in case of an emergency also. Probably the toughest part was my kids wanting to activate theirs, which i did not succumb to, and they learned in short time it was not going to happen.

Hope this helps any one whether solo or family to get their own and use it the same way i do, which hopefully we never have to.