You may not realize that hundreds of 911 abuses occur all around the nation every day and you probably have no idea how it affects you.
There are only so many available 911 lines and operators in any given location around the country. This means it's possible that a line could be tied up on a frivolous call, preventing you from getting through in a real emergency.
A woman was just arrested in New Haven, Connecticut for attempting to use 911 as her own private taxi dispatcher. She called 911 six times requesting a ride home from a nightclub. In Bradenton, Florida a man was arrested for calling 911 a total of 18 times in two months. None of the calls were emergency related. In Avon Park, Florida another man was arrested for calling 911 more than 200 times during a three-day span!
Of course if you are having an emergency you shouldn't feel bad about calling emergency services. The general rule of thumb is if you aren't sure, call. But if you know beforehand that a certain situation could be better handled by another department you can help cut down on 911 abuses.
Each time 911 is used for a non-emergency purpose a critical line is being tied up, preventing legitimate emergency calls from getting through. For the best in local response to home emergencies, consider a monitored ADT alarm system. Highly trained dispatchers have direct access to your local emergency response units, bypassing the 911 system. They generally get help headed to your location faster than dialing 911, which could mean the difference between life and death.