NSS-CDS emergency directions sign

[DA Aquamaster]

I decided to be the "someone" and call Suwanee county to get their opinon on the issue. I had to speak to 4 people to get to the right person, but he stated their preference was for coordinates in decimal degrees, for the reason specifed in my previous post - they are easier to correctly interpret over a phone or radio. And they really appreciated us taking the time to ask them for their preference.

My suggestion for future signage, at least in Suwanee county, would be to stay with a decimal degree format (DD.DDDD). And it would be a good idea to check with emergency personnel in other counties to ensure we get there preferred format as well, although I suspect they will have a similar preference for the decimal degree format due to its easier readability.

Whether or not the current sign at Cow should be revised is another issue.

As an NSS/CDS member, I'd be happy to proof read and/or critique any future signs, or converting Lat/Lon coordinates into DD format. I'll also be back in N FL the last week of September if anyone needs help placing signs.

As an aside: the post on the deco stop is now gone - possibly pulled by the "over moderators" there.

[caverkevin]

What post is gone, I did not see anything missing.

As an aside: the post on the deco stop is now gone - possibly pulled by the "over moderators" there.

Thanks for calling. I am planning on calling all the local dispatches and asking that question before the next signs. Also I not sure how the 911 with cell phones works here in Florida. In Michigan mobile calls to 911 were routed to the Michigan State Police. They had to hand it off to a local county dispatch. If that is the case, the number for the local dispatch might be good too. As well as the emergency line for DAN.

Looks like I am spearheading this now. Any suggestions, feel free to send them. I am serious about the little contest and public flogging

Cheers!!

Kevin

[BabyDuck]

i'll just go ahead and sign up for the flogging, if that's ok...

thanks for putting it up, kevin! it's very appreciated. i'll have a warmer fuzzier feeling next time i fall down there. (it's happened twice.)

thanks for calling, larry. you rock.

[DA Aquamaster]

My motives are entirely selfish - given that my dive buddy keeps falling at Cow. The dive ain't done until Marci is out of the sink.

Kevin - good point on the 911 cell system and the possible variations for how calls are dispatched. Having the local dispatch number could speed response time.

[JerseyJersey]

First of all....Thank you everyone involved for doing this. It is not something I would have ever thought of until it was too late.

This past winter I stopped on the NY Thruway to assist as I saw a car flip over the median in front of me. Not a clue where I was except on the thruway, 911 dispatchers honed in on my cellphone and I was asked to leave my phone on and remain while state troopers and ambulances came to me.

No idea how it worked or if all states use the same protocol but I was told any information at all you can give them helps..... mile markers, land marks, etc.

I am definately new to every site in FLA when there. These signs in any form are a home run. Good job

[MORGAN]

I realize that being anal obsessive-compulsive detail oriented control freak cave divers, we can't resist an opportunity to point out how something could be improved. (As a critical care nurse as well as a cave diver, I'm sure I'm worse than most!)

But I'd like to acknowledge what a great idea this was and express my gratitude to the people who took this project on.

The directions I got when I was a paramedic were often more like:

Urban: "756 58th Street, Apartment 13, on the 4th floor. About halfway down the 700 block on 58th, across from the Salvation Army office."

Except that all of the street signs in the area have been stolen, all of the streetlights have been broken or shot out, none of the buildings have numbers, and the Salvation Army office is now a porno shop. The front door to what seems like it could be the right building has a sheet of plywood screwed over it, and the only way into the building is a door off the alley that leads into the basement. There are only three floors, and none of the apartment doors have numbers.

Rural: "The old Evans place, about three miles out Miller Road off Route 113, past where the sawmill used to be. You know where the big yellow barn used to be that burned down a few years ago? It's about a mile before that.

The Evans' haven't lived there since 1963, what the locals call Miller Road is called Lewis Road on the E911 maps, there's no sign of anything that looks like what used to be a sawmill or a burned-down barn, none of the web of dirt roads have signs, there's no reliable way to tell the town roads from the logging roads, and you've driven 7 miles up what you thought was the right road without seeing a house. You finally meet a pickup truck that's zooming toward you flashing its headlights, and its very anxious and half-drunk driver leads you down a cowpath past the cellar hole that used to be "the old Evans place" and up through the woods to a trailer where there are no lights on.

Compared to this, the lovely new sign at Cow is a model of clarity. Thanks to Kevin and everyone else!

Mike

[FW]

....The directions I got when I was a paramedic were often more like:...

Lafayette county Florda has set a good example of how to do a rural 911 system. They have re-numbered all the roads, and put signs on any that had none. They also put numbered posts at every residence, and even vacant lots. I have even seen this done in rural Arkansas

It would really help at places like Cow, and Cathedral.

[Arctic Mike]

Thanks for the idea and the execution! Great job!

[matt_w]

Among other things. The whole text should have been proofread. Heck, I'd have done it for nothing.

Great idea.

It could be cleaned up some (Like most of my posts on the Internet), but it will still be valuable if it is needed. (Unlike most of my posts on the Internet).

Matt

[MORGAN]

They also put numbered posts at every residence, and even vacant lots. I have even seen this done in rural Arkansas

They have numbers there?

Wait, I'm from rural Vermont - Appalachia North, the poverty pocket of northern New England. Never mind.

Mike