Mobile Phones Life Savers
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday October 9, 1999
It seems Wollongong isn't immune to Australia's love affair with the mobile phone.
In fact a survey that revealed one in three Australians now carries a mobile phone has come as no surprise to Wollongong retailers.
Accent Communications manager Shane Hornby said most of his customers were business oriented, but many people bought mobiles for security.
Mr Hornby said November and December were the boom months for mobile phone sales with many customers buying them for their children, ``but we get more sales from men buying them for their wives," he said.
The security issue was also addressed in the recent Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) survey which highlighted the role the phones play in Australia.
AMTA executive director Peter Russell said not only were the phones ``vital for safety and peace of mind", they were also ``playing a vital role in emergency situations where lives may be at risk".
The study revealed one in four users had used their phones to report a dangerous situation.
Wollongong's emergency service personnel acknowledged the growing role mobile phones played in alerting them to danger but indicated there was room for improvement.
Wollongong ambulance superviser Greg Guleksen said while mobile phone users had good intentions the information they gave often lacked detail. ``Information about motor vehicle accidents is often ambiguous," he said.
``They get down the road and then realise they never had any idea of where they were."
Mr Guleksen said unfortunately a lot of people didn't stop to check the scene and, when asked to describe the situation by the triple 0 operator, were unable to give a description of how many people were involved and what type of injuries ambulance personnel could expect to encounter.
Community safety officer Sergeant John Klepczarek said the police had also noticed some problems.
He said some people had tried to call triple 0 from mobiles and their phone didn't allow it.
``With certain types of phones people have to actually call 1123 which can cause delays and confusion," he said.
A mobile phone was responsible for quickly alerting firefighters to the fire that destroyed Rural Fire Service chief Barry Rutledge's house at Jamberoo on Thursday.
Metal roofer Steve O'Hara dialed triple 0 when he noticed the Rutledge St house ablaze.
Mr O'Hara said it was the second time he had used the phone in an emergency. He had called triple 0 when injured in a motor vehicle accident at Mittagong 12 months ago.
© 1999 Illawarra Mercury
