When to Call 112

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, , 2011
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. If you were driving alone and suddenly saw flashing lights on an unmarked car pulling up behind you, what would you do? Would you obediently pull over and wait for a speeding ticket or a friendly warning to drive more carefully? Most of us would pull over and stop, expecting a traffic cop to appear at our car window, but suppose it was more sinister than that. Is there anything else we can do, if an unmarked car, with strobe lights flashing, begins following close behind us, indicating we should stop?

You can call 112, which is what a young lady named Lauren did on her way to visit a friend one afternoon about one o’clock. When an unmarked car with flashing lights pulled up behind her, she remembered something her parents had always said. Never pull over for an unmarked car, but keep driving until you find a gas station or other public place where you can see other people and that’s what she did. Instead of pulling over, she kept driving and called 112 on her cell phone and explained what was happening. The police dispatcher that answered the phone checked the records while she was talking and learned that no police car was scheduled to be anywhere near her. So, he told her to keep driving, remain calm and back-up was on the way.

Ten minutes later four cop cars surrounded her vehicle and the unmarked car. One policeman went to her side. The others surrounded the unmarked vehicle and confronted the driver, who was tackled to the ground when he got out of the car. The man was identified as a convicted rapist who was wanted for other crimes.

Lauren called 112, because it’s a DIRECT link to immediate help in sudden emergencies. 112 should be called ONLY when instant help is critical, when you or someone else is bleeding uncontrollably or suffocating or was struck by lightning. Threats such as seeing someone trapped in a burning building or in a damaged vehicle or injured by a fallen tree. Or you might want a dispatcher on the other end of the telephone, when an unmarked car with flashing lights wants you to stop. That’s when you call 112. It might save your life. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.