The 911 Tapping Protocol is an initiative developed by the

government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...

to provide members of the deaf and hard of hearing community, as well as others who are unable to voice, with a means of directly reporting emergencies to

911 911, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

from the streets of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The tapping protocol can be employed when calling ''911'' from a

pay phone A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone or pay telephone or public phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or tele ...

or when using one of New York City's emergency call boxes to summon help. In both cases, the person reporting the emergency communicates with the 911 call-taker by tapping in a specific pattern with a finger, pen, key, etc., on the mouthpiece of the phone or the speaker section of the call box. Two tapping patterns are used in order to distinguish the type of assistance requested: a steady tapping pattern indicates a request for police assistance, while a repeated two-tap pattern indicates a request for

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

and

emergency medical service Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to ...

("EMS") response. The person reporting the emergency should employ the appropriate tapping method for at least 90 seconds, and ideally until the requested emergency services arrive. If possible, the person should remain at the pay phone or call box location to direct arriving emergency personnel to the emergency.

History

The tapping protocol was introduced in 1996 in order to meet a federal court's requirement that New York offer a 911 notification alternative that would "provide the hearing-impaired with a means of identifying not only their location, but also the type of emergency being reported."''Civic Association of the Deaf v. Giuliani'', 915 F. Supp. 622, 638 (S.D.N.Y. 1996) Under New York City's

Enhanced 911 Enhanced 911 (E-911 or E911) is a system used in North America to automatically provide the caller's location to 911 dispatchers. 911 is the universal emergency telephone number in the region. In the European Union, a similar system exists known ...

("E-911") system, every telephone and emergency call box automatically transmits its location to 911 operators, so that an operator receiving a tapping call will have the caller's location on-screen and will be able to distinguish, by the tapping pattern, which emergency services are being requested.

References

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External links

NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities ("MOPD") website

Getting Emergency Assistance from Pay Phones / Emergency Call Boxes

MOPD information sheet on how deaf and hard of hearing persons can access emergency services
Assistive technology Healthcare in New York City New York City Police Department New York City Fire Department Emergency telephone numbers Emergency communication Public phones

History

See also

References

External links