EDITORIAL : UNJAMMING 911; BILL WOULD MAKE WIRELESS EMERGENCY CALLS MORE MANAGEABLE.

A bill making its way through the state Legislature tackles a serious problem - 911 wireless overload.

Currently, all wireless 911 emergency calls are handled by California Highway Patrol operators, a cumbersome and inefficient process.

Californians own about 5.5 million cell phones, a number expected to triple over the next five years.

It's not uncommon to see people talking on their cell phones in shopping malls, at video stores, walking down streets, and of course, in their cars.

In 1997, CHP operators answered more than 3 million wireless 911 calls, up a whopping 9,210 percent, that's percent, from 1985. As many as 30 percent of these wireless 911 calls eventually get transferred to local emergency services, such as police or fire, delaying response time.

Compounding the problem, the wireless 911 system now lacks the technology to determine the caller's number or location. CHP operators must rely on the caller to provide crucial information about the emergency and where it is.

Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, and Assemblywoman Helen Thompson, D-Vacaville, have co-written a bill to change the way wireless 911 calls are directed.

The legislation includes several of the recommendations made by a task force convened by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1996 to solve the problem.

The bill would allow wireless 911 calls to go directly to the appropriate state or local agency and establish a routing process it is hoped would reduce delays in response.

It's a measure that needs careful consideration and action. Changing the way wireless 911 calls are handled could save lives.