Thursday, June 4, 2009

A Billboard in Action

"If it's life or death, call 911 ... if it's not, don't." - Utah Billboard

Dispatcher: Police operator 3332, what is your emergency?

Caller:
Hello? (static) Hello? Are you there?

Dispatcher: Yes, ma'am, I'm here. What is the nature of your emergency?

Caller:
I'm ... I'm trapped. We're stuck inside of a small tunnel.

Dispatcher: Ok, stay calm. Now ma'am, I must ask you a very important question. Please, answer as best you can: Is this a life or death situation?

Caller: What? ... What?!

Dispatcher: I mean, as far as you can tell, is this the type of situation where somebody could end up dead?

Caller: What are you talking about? I'M TRAPPED IN A TUNNEL! We can't get out of here!

Dispatcher:
Well, yes, I know. But ... do you have enough air? Is there a source of water around you? Could you survive for a while in there if you had to?

Caller: Are you insane? What part of trapped in a tunnel are you missing here?! My daughter and I are stuck ... trapped ... we can't get out!

Dispatcher: I wouldn't even bring it up at all, ma'am, but you see ... due to the recent financial crisis, we've had to cut back on our emergency support staff and what not and, well, if this isn't life or death, you have to call another number. So you see, I just have to make sure this is really a life or death situation ... and I'm just not sure being trapped automatically qualifies.

Caller: What the hell is wrong with you? Yes, this bloody well is a life or death situation ... GET US SOME HELP!

Dispatcher:
Ok ... if you say so, ma'am. I'll transmit this call to Search and Rescue. Please remain on the line.

3 comments:

shandy said...

cynic. they're saving it for emergencies like this: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0303091mcnugget1.html

Mindy said...

I kind-of like the ads. When I hear stories about people calling 911 because McDonalds ran out of chicken-nuggets, my viewpoint that the world is full of idiots seems verified. . .

M. Gordon said...

Like the add or not, you have to admit that the fact that we need them is really, really sad.

I'm just trying to look on the funny side of life ;)