Maricopa County residents have been dismayed, annoyed and, finally, alarmed when their emergency calls to 911 go unanswered. One woman calling to report a car accident said she waited for 15 rings before an operator picked up.

A representative from the county admitted that getting through to an operator can sometimes be difficult. She cited a number of explanations.

First, she said, the increase in cell phone use has translated into many callers reporting the same accident. The most common 911 call is a motor vehicle accident on the freeway. Multiply that one incident by the number of people with cell phones who drive by, and you have multiple operators fielding calls about one incident.

The county provides most of the equipment and training to the cities' individual 911 operating centers. A couple of years ago, when recorded messages came on the scene, the county let each city decide how it wanted to handle overload calls. Now, some cities will send callers to a "please hold for the next available operator" message. Some roll overload calls to nearby cities' operators. And some just let it ring.

The cities that chose not to use the taped messages said they thought their citizens would get angry if they got an impersonal recording. How much angrier than not getting any answer at all, though?

Technology gurus say that 911 systems will soon accommodate texting, streaming video and whatever else they can come up with. In theory, these enhancements will free operators to answer the "live" calls while aiding the process of screening out multiple reports of the same accident or injury. Ultimately, success can only be measured by how long it takes for emergency personnel to arrive at the scene and how many lives can be saved.

If you have been injured in an accident and don't know what to do, contact a Phoenix personal injury lawyer to help you out.

Resource: Arizona Republic "Maricopa County Official: 911 Operators Can't Always Pick Up Immediately" 9/29/10