Follow up with the Ambulance Comms Centre

[Ixion]

It is a great pity that not everyone has my innate ability to give clear concise and utterly unmistakeable directions. Noone, (except Disco Dan, but he is beyond human help) could get lost following my directions.

However, since that cannot be , why in Gods name do they not equip the ambulances with a GPS unit. Which could easily be updated via computer with all sorts of local and useful information. This is, after all, the 22nd century. So why are they still faffing around with bits of pulped tree ?

And why can't we have emergency beacony thingies for our bikes? At a sane price . I think you can get them, but they are megabucks, and there is a vast amount of bureaucratic shit to use them. They need to be $29.99 max, and you just push the red button. Which calls 111 and transmits your geo coords. Sorted.

[slofox]

It is a great pity that not everyone has my innate ability to give clear concise and utterly unmistakeable directions. Noone, (except Disco Dan, but he is beyond human help) could get lost following my directions.

However, since that cannot be , why in Gods name do they not equip the ambulances with a GPS unit. Which could easily be updated via computer with all sorts of local and useful information. This is, after all, the 22nd century. So why are they still faffing around with bits of pulped tree ?

And why can't we have emergency beacony thingies for our bikes? At a sane price . I think you can get them, but they are megabucks, and there is a vast amount of bureaucratic shit to use them. They need to be $29.99 max, and you just push the red button. Which calls 111 and transmits your geo coords. Sorted.

But but but Ixion, what you say makes SENSE!!! Ain't nobody in their right minds gonna take notice of SENSE. Hell, the more complicated the better here in lil ole enzed...try employing someone if ya don't believe it....

[samgab]

I work at Police North Comms as a call taker, and know first hand how difficult it can be to locate someone who calls in from a cell phone, especially when they are on/near the state highways.
I agree, something needs to be done, to better identify locations.
The country could be divided up into a fine grid, with unique identifiers for each small grid section, then there needs to be location markers on every single state highway every few metres... What if the location references were printed on the little white markers that are everywhere?

It's a shame also that we don't have triangulation technology linked into our systems. In the movies, they always seem to know where a cell phone caller is down to a few mm's... Unfortunately in real life it doesn't work that way, and when you call 111 from a cell phone you could be anywhere in NZ, and we rely on the caller knowing their location and being able to clearly and accurately describe it. In a panic situation, this can be very difficult at times.
eg:
"I need help and I'm between Taupo and Rotorua on the state highway, and that's all I know"...

Where do we send the police/ambos?

"What state highway are you on?"
"I have no idea, just hurry up and get here"...
"Which direction were you going, North or South?"
"I don't know"
"Where were you heading to?"
"Taupo"
"Okay, how long ago did you leave Rotorua?"
"Maybe 10 minutes to half an hour ago..."
etc.

I know the cell companies can triangulate cell phones quite accurately; for instance Vodafone can do it so accurately they can offer a commercial service where your cellphone becomes a home phone when you are on your own property, and it's accurate enough to know exactly when you walk out your gate, so that it can become like a cell phone again.
They have the technology, but it isn't available to us, unfortunately.
Had ambos been able to access location data for the cell calls, they would have been able to go to the exact location.
Same goes in Police emergencies, where the caller calls from a cell phone, but is unable to speak, or communicate in English, or describe their whereabouts, for any number of reasons.

I hope some progress is made in this area soon.
Props to any out there who are taking active steps to find solutions to this problem.

[mujambee]

The country could be divided up into a fine grid, with unique identifiers for each small grid section, then there needs to be location markers on every single state highway every few metres... What if the location references were printed on the little white markers that are everywhere?

Those are all over the place here, there's no mistake on where you are. Problem is that they are so apart (1Km) that are quite difficult to spot from an accident, and few people will leave an injured person unattended and start on a 2Km trip to find the post.

A cheaper solution may be give all manteinance squads a set of stencils and some paint. After any works are done on a road, a mark should be painted every 250m. Something on that way may be easy to achieve and cheap enough that no one can complain on it.

[GOONR]

...why in Gods name do they not equip the ambulances with a GPS unit. Which could easily be updated via computer with all sorts of local and useful information. This is, after all, the 22nd century. So why are they still faffing around with bits of pulped tree ?

Totally agree with you, this is definitely the direction that the emergency services need to head in and I can't beleive that this isn't the case already.

And why can't we have emergency beacony thingies for our bikes? At a sane price . I think you can get them, but they are megabucks, and there is a vast amount of bureaucratic shit to use them. They need to be $29.99 max, and you just push the red button. Which calls 111 and transmits your geo coords. Sorted.

I wouldn't mind paying the mega mucks for one of these if I thought it would it would save a life, mine or any one else's. I know that when you buy a beacon you have to register it. When you do that can you let them know that you are a biker? The emergency services would (possibly / hopefully) then have an idea of the situation they are going to attend and more importantly your exact location. The emergency service find people out in the middle of nowhere, Km's from a road using beacons so no worries about not knowing the name of the road, cell coverage etc.

If you can let them know that you are a biker, and the response was geared up for that then I would get one, I don't even ride just yet but I could keep one in the car for now. If it helps just one person out then surely it has to be the best money spent.

[Daffyd]

What happens if there are two houses within 100 metres? They can't both be '57' ? And what if there are two houses opposite each, on each side of the road?

I've never seen such numbers up here. The big blue really easy to see tanker numbers. And the usually missing obscured and invisible house numbers.

The RAPID numbers measure distance in multiples of 10 metres.

And, as with urban street numbering, odd numbers on the left, even on the right. (Starting from 0.)

Example: My RAPID no is '7'. I am 70 metres from the corner on the left hand side.

[NordieBoy]

I wouldn't mind paying the mega mucks for one of these if I thought it would it would save a life, mine or any one else's. I know that when you buy a beacon you have to register it. When you do that can you let them know that you are a biker? The emergency services would (possibly / hopefully) then have an idea of the situation they are going to attend and more importantly your exact location. The emergency service find people out in the middle of nowhere, Km's from a road using beacons so no worries about not knowing the name of the road, cell coverage etc.

If you can let them know that you are a biker, and the response was geared up for that then I would get one, I don't even ride just yet but I could keep one in the car for now. If it helps just one person out then surely it has to be the best money spent.

SPOT is the one you're after...
http://www.findmespot.com/australian...and/index3.php
$115us per year
http://www.findmespot.com/australian...nd/pricing.php

$150us per year for $100,000us coverage including helicopter extraction underwritten by Lloyd's of London - for any emergency service expenses incurred.

[GOONR]

SPOT is the one you're after...
http://www.findmespot.com/australian...and/index3.php
$115us per year
http://www.findmespot.com/australian...nd/pricing.php

$150us per year for $100,000us coverage including helicopter extraction underwritten by Lloyd's of London - for any emergency service expenses incurred.

Looks like a good product / service, ORB do them in NZ, not that expensive to buy but I guess they make that up on the annual fee.

[Toot Toot]

Following this thread with great interest. Thankyou for posting this up. Keen to see your updates and final results.

[BMWST?]

The country could be divided up into a fine grid, with unique identifiers for each small grid section, .

it already is,there is a very good map system you know.The numbers as you say coulld be stencilled on the roadside reflectors.

[swbarnett]

It's a shame also that we don't have triangulation technology linked into our systems.

I, for one, am very glad they don't. Do you really want TPTB to know where you are at will?

[Road Guardian]

why in Gods name do they not equip the ambulances with a GPS unit. Which could easily be updated via computer with all sorts of local and useful information. This is, after all, the 22nd century. So why are they still faffing around with bits of pulped tree ?

All ambulances are equipped with a GPS unit, it transmits the location of the ambulance to the communication centers, so that they can check we (the emergency crews) are heading to the correct location.

And yes, that GPS unit (a Mobile Data Terminal) has all sorts of important information about the location. We still use paper maps, because electronic technology has a nasty habit of falling over just when you need it.

The problem here is not getting the ambulance to the correct location, its getting the location exactly correct in the first place that is the problem. That is why when ever you ask for an ambulance, the first thing they ask you is "Ambulance, what is the exact address of your emergency". That is why we need to be very clear and precise when calling up the emergency services.

[MarkH]

I have a normal car GPS unit, on it I can enter latitude and longitude and ask it to direct me there. I can also check the latitude & longitude of my current location and ask the 111 operator to send an ambulance to those co-ordinates. I think as this technology gets cheaper more motorists will have them. Obviously it would be trivially easy for someone at comms to check up on the internet where the co-ordinates are (I'm pretty sure you can do that with google earth) and then direct an ambulance to that location.

My GPS also gives me the proper name of the road that I am on, which makes a nice double check with the co-ordinates.

BTW
Big ups to Nasty for doing something positive after suffering such a huge loss in her life. I don't know if anything discussed here would have made a difference in her partners case, or for the next accident called in - but if it can save one or two lives in a year then it is a totally worthwhile thing to do!

[vagrant]

If I knew emergency services vehicles were fitted with GPS, and I was planning trips on country roads then I would definitely buy a GPS unit and fit it to the bike.

Taking this a step further, the GPS could trigger a 111 call if the tip sensor on the bike has been active for more than 1 minute or not actively cancelled by the rider.

Dave.

This is currently under development. The prototype configuration uses the core of a prepay cellphone, a gps receiver and a motion switch. The biggest limitation with it is the lack of decent cellphone coverage over some the best areas that we like to ride in.

[pete376403]

This is currently under development. The prototype configuration uses the core of a prepay cellphone, a gps receiver and a motion switch. The biggest limitation with it is the lack of decent cellphone coverage over some the best areas that we like to ride in.

My new work cellphone (Sanyo SCP-6650) has GPS locating built in. Would be ideal apart from the fact that, as you say, cell coverage is not the best. (The other problem is the phone is a piece of shit, crap sound quality,etc, but we're not discussing that ATM)