| |
| Worth the risk? Rhode Island highway call box system abandoned.
|
10/1/05 |
|
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the E 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone System in the US are to remove the emergency highway call box system that has been in operation in the State for the last quarter of a century.
The move, which is expected to result in savings of over $US1 million annually, will mean greater reliance on other forms of technology including CCTV cameras linked to the State's transportation management centre and the use of cell phones by stranded motorists.
"There are enough redundant features built into the interstate system to keep motorists in need of assistance safe in an emergency. Walking down Route 95 to find a call box is not one of them," said James Capaldi, Director of RIDOT. "Passing motorists can help by being good Samaritans and call in motorists in distress."
The policy is not, however, without its risks. CCTV coverage has traditionally only been able to assist in locating a stranded motorist following a call to the control centre and while the use of motion detection software will eventually plug this particular hole, there is little evidence that Rhode Island has yet reached this point. Added to this is the fact that there are only around 520,000 cell phones in use in the State, not all of them belonging to drivers and a stranded motorist may find himself waiting some considerable time for assistance.
Nor can claims by the RIDOT that the system is under-used be taken as sufficient reason for the withdrawal of the service. It is in the nature of an emergency service to be under-used. Would anyone seriously expect the opposite?
|
|
