311 SERVICE CAN BE LIFE-SAVING BARGAIN.

Byline: Robert M. Hertzberg

THEY call to test their new cell phones. Or to complain about a barking dog. Or to ask how to pay a parking ticket.

Trouble is, too often the number being called is 911.

These 911 calls may seem innocuous. But the potentially deadly truth is they're clogging up precious emergency lines, slowing response times and causing delays that could cost lives.

Nearly every minute of every day, 911 lines statewide are subjected to too many nonemergency calls. Big blips in usage occur - for example, during school graduations and the holidays as people test new cell phones by making ``free'' calls to 911.

My public-policy response to this public-safety risk was to establish a 311 pilot program in San Jose. A 311 number provides centralized access to nonemergency city services.

As a result of the success of the pilot program, I'm carrying a bill that will allow localities to establish 311 numbers to relieve the burden placed on the 911 system by nonemergency calls.

Why should this be a public-policy priority?

Depending on time and locality, from 20 percent to 95 percent of calls to 911 are nonemergency calls. In Los Angeles, 11 percent - or 210,639 out of 1.8 million - of 911 callers last year either hung up or received no answer, according to city representative Sandra Stresak.

``We estimate 85 percent of 911 calls are not real emergencies,'' Stresak said.

In the five-county Bay Area last year, out of 2.2 million 911 calls made from cell phones, 648,293 calls - or almost 30 percent - went unanswered, CHP representative Adam Cuevas said.

Imagine what it must be like to be a 911 dispatcher. The demands are relentless, and life-or-death decisions can be as immediate as the next incoming call.

An experienced communications supervisor in Sacramento put it well. ``One of our greatest fears is that someone is going to have a real emergency but can't get through,'' she said, adding: ``Callers often say something like, well, it's a good thing no one was shooting at me.''

It doesn't have to be that way.

Concrete evidence shows that a 311 nonemergency number reduces unnecessary calls to the 911 system, thus improving emergency-response times.

For example, San Jose's 14-month pilot program was so successful that city officials wisely made it permanent by using city funds to do so, according to San Jose representative Roxanne Miller

The facts demanded it, Miller said, citing a 30 percent cut in 911 response times, a 42 percent drop in abandoned calls or hang-ups and a 20 percent drop in calls to 911.

``It does work,'' Miller testified during a recent Senate committee hearing. ``It does relieve the burden on 911. It saves lives.''

Indeed, it is that life-and-death fact that largely fueled my legislative pursuit to allow adoption of 311 systems statewide.

The trend is clear. Los Angeles is inaugurating a city-funded 311 system in mid-September, Stresak said, and New York's 311 system will begin operations next year. Cities that have already established 311 systems include Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit and Washington, D.C. In the wake of Sept. 11, officials in at least 16 additional cities are considering or proceeding with 311 systems.

In California, the program would be funded through a phone surcharge to customers of up to 0.25 percent of a customer's bill. At that rate, the cost of 311 systems would max out at the rate of 25 cents on every $100 in phone charges.

Despite that apparent bargain, my first two attempts at establishing 311 systems statewide stalled. I'm hoping my third effort is charmed as my bill makes its way to the governor's desk.

I hope you agree Assembly Bill 669 should become law. Your life may depend on it.

When to call 911:

--A person's life or safety is in immediate danger.

--A shooting or fire.

--A traffic accident involving injuries or vehicles stranded on busy roadways.

--A serious fight or a person with a weapon.

--A life-threatening medical problem, such as choking.

Possible scenarios for 311:

--A not-life-threatening police or medical situation.

--A loud party.

--A barking dog.

--A burglary or vandalism with no suspects on scene.

--A question about governmental operations, such as hours of operation.

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box:

(1) When to call 911 (see text)

(2) Possible scenarios for 311 (see text)