My brother, who works for a telephone company has said repeatedly that it is far safer to have a landline than a cell phone in case of an emergency. As the mother of toddlers I have listened to his words and so, when many people are getting rid of their landlines and opting to only have cell phones, we resently installed one in our house.
Some quick facts:
- A landline can tell the dispatchers *exactly* where you're calling from.
- A cell phone can only give a general proximity for where you're calling from.
- The above is true even if you have GPS on your phone.
- Adults misunderstand even me when I tell them where I live. If L had to give someone our address (which she sorta kinda can) they might not get here.
- We've had to call 911 twice in the past three years.
Don't believe me about the pros of a landline and the cons of a cell phone. Watch this news clip.
A very wise decision, Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree and have always thought that "when Joan was old enough to call" we should get on installed. Oops, Joan's kind of old enough to call. I also just think it's a good thing because most of the time I can never find my phone.
ReplyDeleteMaybe in 2012 we'll see about that. Sounds like a perfect New Year's Resolution.
I definitely feel better having a land line. I'm so old fashioned that I even bought a corded phone recently so I would have a land line during a power outage. I realize that there isn't a huge chance that I'll need it, but if I do, it's there.
ReplyDeleteThat's one reason we never dropped our landline. Also I can barely understand anyone on a cell phone. It must be a defect in my ear. I can't imagine never having the crispness of a land line, but it is expensive to keep both. :(
ReplyDeleteJoanna, Good point about having a corded phone! I remember in power outages using our kitchen phone (the only corded one in the house) to call my great grandparents and make sure they were okay.
ReplyDeletePlease note everyone - Margaret is a dispatcher, too! :)
Bonnie, we also have a landline for this reason. After an experience of calling 911 on a cell and the person asking me to repeat my location over and over again because I wasn't getting all the numbers and names in the right place it seems like a good idea to keep the landline. I chuckle a bit too because I got a bright red vintage phone to match the rest of the kitchen... so the Emergency phone is red :)
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