Received an announcement this morning that my counties 911 system can now respond to texts. Enter 911 in the To field, enter your message and press Send. Wait for the dispatcher to respond.
This is new to me. Has anyone heard of this before? What do you think? Perfect if you’re hiding in the closet and cant talk I suppose.
Or deaf.
Or have poor cell reception
Yes, of course
If your 911 supports this (mine does), scroll to the bottom and click on Find Services in Your Area
you should sign up.
Interesting. I’ll ask about this feature. They didn’t mention it, just that you could text them, but I’ll see if they are aware of it.
Not available in my zip code. 
Great idea though. I can definitely imagine scenarios where this would be important.
No, it’s a horrible idea unless it’s universal. Imagine being somewhere other than home, a friends house, work, restaurant, hotel, etc & attempting it except that locality doesn’t participate; you desperately need the cops, & they ain’t comin’
AFAIK texting 911 is (supposed to be) for when you absolutely positively cannot call, so if the locality doesn’t participate, that sucks for you, but you were already screwed since you absolutely positively could not call. And if you’re in an area where it doesn’t work, the provider is required to reply with a text letting you know.
Certainly better, if universal, but also a potential lifesaver in areas where it is available for those trapped in situations where they can’t make any sound.
You’ll know If they didn’t get the message if you don’t get some kind of reply–>
Just like if you called 911 and got no answer or didn’t get through… you’d know help was not on the way.