In response to this on the debunking forum:

"As of Oct. 1, survey results from more than 2,700 911 call centers operated by local governments revealed that only 50 percent of the centers were Year 2000-compliant. That means as the new year turns, computers in those centers could interpret the year 2000 as 1900 because of systems that rely on a two-digit date field to identify a year."

Mr. Paul Davis replied:

"Just how is any sort of dating critical to the mission of getting a person into an ambulance and to a hospital?

Billing is important, but it isn't the mission."

Please answer Mr. Davis in a civil manner. Thank you.

-- Stay (in@good.health), November 13, 1999

Answers

Confusion: #1 Problem - These aren't the days of the old swichboard where "Mayble" connects you directly to the source.

If calls are 10x normal, then ?

If dates are irrevelent, then Y2K is not a problem.

-- dw (y2k@outhere.com), November 13, 1999.

Mr. Paul Davis replied:

"Just how is any sort of dating critical to the mission of getting a person into an ambulance and to a hospital?

It really is amazing how ignorant a man can be. But, I will answer his question EXACTLY as he asked it....

"How is ANY SORT of dating critical...."

The ambulance service depends upon its suppliers. If its suppliers fail, they do not get people to a hospital. Gasoline. Telecommunications. Traffic signals. Electricity.

The ambulance service can not handle a huge increase in demand.

The ambulance service is irrelevant if hospitals are out of commision.

The ambulance service is irrelevant if the employees can not or will not show up for work.

One could go on and on about the dependecies that any entity is under, but Davis is intentionally ignorant. He sets up a straw man by asking what date dependency would prevent an ambulance technician from picking a man up and sticking him in an ambulance as if THAT alone was the ONLY problem that would adversely affect an ambulance service.

People like davis will always be around, but not for much longer.

Paul Milne "If you live within 5 miles of a 7-11, you're toast"

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), November 13, 1999.

I'm no expert on 911 software, not by a longshot, but I know from court records that 911 calls are logged by date and time; that's the first piece of data on the record. I would think, therefore, that if the date portion of the program screwed up, dispatch could have some delays if not direct errors. That's assuming just the date portion screwed up. We had a woman die here in the Tampa Bay area recently from an ashtma attack because the 911 system had her logged in incorrectly and the ambulance didn't arrive for over 12 hours. I would consider 911 screw-ups, from the date angle (assuming the whole kit and caboodle didn't shut down) to be pretty important.

jeannie

P.S. Nice to see you posting, Paul. And you were so nice about it!

-- jhollander (hollander@ij.net), November 13, 1999.

911 calls are (or could be used as) legal documents. That's why the calls are taped. The complete "transaction" is also time/date stamped (call-from number, operator taking call, service notified, etc.). Every step of the way there are time/date stamps on what happened.

Billing is a minor concern.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), November 13, 1999.

Software is not self-healing.

If the program, the switchboard, the entire system bombs because a insignificant component that is date-sensitive bombs, the system is down, period.

Does that explain the situation?

Peter

-- Peter Starr (startrack@northcoast.com), November 13, 1999.

If any 911 system goes down for whatever reason, date-related or not, it is impossible for a citizen to call 911 and get an answer. Does one send a runner to the nearest ambulance station? Use tom-toms? Cans and string? Smoke signals? Carrier pigeon? How does one summon an ambulance?

Please, all of you, look in your phone books and write down the non-911 phone number for your local emergency services communications center. With luck, the number will not be part of the 911 computer consoles and you will be able to summon help. (Communications will be able to contact an ambulance either by a straight phone line or hand-held radio.) Please write down this number now because in an emergency situation you may lose much valuable time finding it in the phone book.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), November 13, 1999.

If the date error causes the software to crash, locks up the system or causes problems with phone communications, then the date error is critical. If the date problem just results in an innacurate time stamp its only a minor admin or legal problem. I'm not getting a sense from the information out there of how serious the problem is. Judging by the yawns by the responsible officials I'm sure hoping its just a minor problem. They know that if the system crashes and people get hurt they will all be looking for new joba and or at a pile of lawsuits. My local EMS system says " we're ready". I sure hope so.

An ED Doc.

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), November 13, 1999.

A very large number of existing 911 systems are of older technology. A large proportion of which are probably not upgradeable. Mainstream telecommunications vendors provide 911 applications with hardware and software adaptations that may or may not be Y2K compliant. The posts discussing time stamping for legal records as well as dispatch have a point.

Better yet, follow Old Git's advice (as always pretty much) and write out the emergency numbers you might need. Unless your local community have been trumpeting the fact that they have a new E911 system (note the difference), do yourself a favor and write down those numbers.

-- Nancy (wellsnl@hotmail.com), November 13, 1999.

Err, except in a lot of areas there is no non 911 emergency number. For example you may well get a recording to call during regular hours or dial 911 in an emergency. Thats to ensure proper routing of the emergency calls. Certainly for every system there should be a backup number in place for the rollover. Don't wait till then to find out.

An ED Doc.

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), November 14, 1999.