You're stopped on the shoulder of an interstate. Something is wrong. You call for help, and the first thing the dispatcher needs is the one thing that's hard to answer at 70 miles an hour in the dark: where are you?

Here's exactly what to say, in the order that gets help to you fastest.

1. Lead with your mile marker

Start with your highway, your direction, and the nearest mile marker: "I'm on I-90 eastbound near mile marker 34." That single line does more than a paragraph of description, because it points responders to one exact spot on the road.

This isn't a nice-to-have. State transportation departments tell drivers to do exactly this. Virginia DOT puts it plainly: "When calling #77 or 911 for emergency assistance, providing the information on a mile marker sign will help responders reach you quickly."

Source: Virginia DOT, Interstate Mile Markers

2. Why "I'm on I-95" isn't enough

An interstate runs through a dozen counties and hundreds of miles. "I'm on I-95" or "somewhere past the last exit" leaves the dispatcher guessing, and on a busy corridor that guess can send the wrong crew to the wrong stretch of road. The mile marker removes the guesswork.

3. Don't assume your phone's GPS is locating you

When you call 911 from a cell phone, the dispatcher often doesn't get the clean GPS pin you'd see in a rideshare app. They frequently get a position estimated from the nearest cell tower. The FCC only requires carriers to deliver an accurate location, within about 50 meters, for 80% of wireless 911 calls, not all of them.

On a highway it's worse: the towers line up in a row along the road, which is the worst possible geometry for pinpointing you. One 911 coordinator described pings landing "3 houses down from where the caller is actually calling from." So you still have to say where you are, and the mile marker is the fastest, most reliable way to do it.

Sources: FCC Wireless E911 Location Accuracy · WPTV Investigates

The full script

When the dispatcher answers, give it in this order:

  1. Highway and direction: "I-90 eastbound," plus the nearest exit if you know it.
  2. Nearest mile marker: "near mile marker 34."
  3. A callback number: the phone you're calling from. Dispatch asks for this early, so they can reach you if the call drops. Have it ready.
  4. What's wrong: broken down, crash, medical, fire.
  5. People and injuries: how many people are with you, and whether anyone is hurt.
  6. Your vehicle: color, make and model, and the license plate, so responders can pick you out of traffic, especially if you've had to step away from it.
  7. Where the vehicle is: fully on the shoulder, or stopped in a travel lane and blocking traffic.
  8. Any hazards: smoke or fire, a fuel or fluid leak, downed wires, or that you're stopped in a blind curve or another dangerous spot.

If you're able to, stay on the line, keep your hazards on, and if it's safe, get yourself behind a barrier or off the roadway while you wait.

What if there's no mile marker sign in view?

Mile marker signs can be spaced up to a mile apart, so it's normal to be between them, or to miss one in the dark. That's the gap MileCheck fills: it shows your nearest mile marker in real time, down to a tenth of a mile, and the marker data is built into the app, so it works even when you have no signal. One tap gives you your road, your direction, and your exact mile marker, ready to read to a dispatcher.

The best time to know your mile marker is before you're the one who needs it.

Keep reading

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