If you have a cell or landline phone, then you should have the ability to call for urgent help when there’s been an accident, crime, or injury by dialing 9-1-1. But sometimes, 911 calls happen by mistake. But what happens if/when you dial 911 in error? Are there consequences?
A lot of 911 misdials are usually the result of things like “butt dials”, kids dialing it without supervision, or by accidentally triggering a phone’s emergency service shortcut. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Emergency Medical Services, which houses the National 911 Program, it doesn’t really matter how the mistake was made. If you dial 911, you should never hang up. If you do, the 911 operator will have to assume an emergency is in progress & will either dispatch first responders to your location, try to call you back, or both. Instead, remain on the line & tell the operator that you dialed 911 by accident. Reassuring the call center that there’s no emergency makes it much more likely you’ll avoid a cautionary welfare check by police.
But suppose you hang up…what then? Well, there’s no hard & fast rule about whether a dispatcher can trace your call to a physical address or whether a certain number of rings is required. It’s possible your cell carrier may only be able to pinpoint your location to within 300 yards. Updated 911 systems might employ “DBH”, or “device-based hybrid” location accuracy, which is the same thing ride-sharing apps like Uber & Lyft use. (Landline phones are a bit easier to track, since they’re normally registered to physical addresses.) But it’s safe to assume you’ll get a visit from a police officer or sheriff’s deputy, at which point you’ll have to explain yourself & the situation.
Mistakes happen, though, and it’s highly unlikely any local government is going to legally pursue you for accidentally phoning 911. However, if you intentionally dial 911 & make a false report of a crime or emergency, you can expect to have a very real problem on your hands, since a lot of states have specific laws on the books that prohibit prank calls. Here in Maryland, a false emergency report is considered a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in prison & a fine of $500. So, it’s best to make sure any/all 911 calls made from your phone are for genuine emergencies.
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