European emergency number 112 in Europe
No matter what city you wish to visit, you always want to know that you will be safe, but unfortunately, wherever you go, there will always be some kind of crime and especially during the summer months, major tourist destinations are a prime target for pick pockets and petit thieves.
Even though Europe in general is a relatively safe place, individuals and groups are always around to target tourists in order to obtain money and valuables, and unfortunately within cities such as Paris, London, Madrid and many, many other major cities, this is no exception.
However, there are some points that we can utilise to try and keep ourselves as safe as possible and also less of a target for opportunists that prey on tourists, but there is also an emergency telephone number in place that will be able to help.
Yet even if this kind of problem never happens, there are also unforeseen circumstances that may arise, such as a medical emergency, an accident, a fire or something you get to see happening whilst driving, etc. The emergency services in any country are always there to help, but sometimes a passerby is all that is needed to save a persons life, which is why they are implementing a standard number for not just France but the whole of the European Union and beyond, that is able to reach the operators for Ambulance, Fire and Police emergency services.
112 - The key emergency number to remember
Throughout Europe there is now a standard emergency number that you should phone from any mobile phone, landline or payphone which is: 112.
This is a number that will get you through to whatever emergency service you require, whether it be the police, the fire brigade or the ambulance service for a medical emergency, etc.
There are protocols in place in order to deal with many different languages, which can also make life much easier in the case of an emergency, but this number is also free to call and even if a mobile phone is blocked or out of credit, you should still be able to utilise the 112 emergency telephone number. A myth circulating, is that any mobile phone can get through to this number even if you do not have a signal, yet this is not entirely true, because the emergency number will only work if your phone can jump to another network, which is why some mobiles will show a message showing emergency calls only when there is no signal on your network.
About the emergency number 112
Many people do not realise that 112 is the recognised emergency number within the European Union, even though this was first implemented at the start of the 1990s and was further updated in 2002. However, some of the newer mobile phones do now have this already incorporated directly onto the mobile phone instead of just the emergency number for the country purchased, like 999 for the United Kingdom or 911 for the USA.
The majority of European Union countries also allow you to use this number from a landline or a payphone and this became even more widespread after 2009, plus from 2012, every person taking a mobile phone to another country would automatically receive a text message informing them of this number.
Over the years, many campaigns have been implemented to try and make the awareness of the 112 emergency number even more prominent, even though many people do not remember it.
But please do, as it does mean that you only really have to remember the one main emergency telephone number of 112 for any European Union Country, which is of course is completely free of charge.
Plus over time new legislation's have come into place regarding this emergency number, which also means that they have to be able to track where the call originated from, just like they can from the traditional number for each country, also as of 2009, additional improvements were made to this system for those with disabilities such as for the hearing impaired.
The idea of the emergency telephone number 112 is that eventually it will be universal throughout the world for any kind of circumstance, whether it be an accident, a fire, a burglary in progress and much more, which will make the communities safer for everyone, whether you are a tourist or a resident.
So today you will even find some of the countries outside of the EU have already adopted this number, just like Switzerland and South Africa, plus some countries within the EU have now adopted this as their primary emergency number including Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Romania.
And although the main emergency number, which is different for each country, like 999 that represents the UK, is still in existence for many countries, the 112 emergency telephone number is the one number that all governments are aiming for as a global and unified number throughout the world, that everyone can recognise and will be able to remember.
In fact, even if you dial the 112 emergency number in Canada, the US, Hong Kong and many other countries from a mobile phone, this will still be recognised, yet at the moment is transferred to the national emergency number for that country.
So do not forget this very important emergency telephone number 112 when you are travelling throughout the UK or abroad and if you are on holiday in France or any other European Union Country, make sure that you remember this number.
But even if you are going to be travelling a little further afield or to a specific country, then it would be worth checking into the numbers you should utilise, and not just rely on 112. Some countries still have specific emergency numbers in place like 110 in Norway for the fire brigade, and 166 for the medical services in Greece, plus there are specific emergency numbers in France and Paris that are still in existence, yet many of these are in addition to the 112 emergency number.
Incredibly, there is even a day dedicated to the emergency number and called 112 Day, it is held on 11th February, plus there are numerous projects ongoing to get the number even more widespread and enabled to be utilised easily.
There are also different governmental directives and legislations that have already come into effect by 2020 along with others planned for the future relating to various issues including specifications for all mobile phones to have certain technology relating to emergency services calls, and you can read more about the technological progress of this exceedingly important topic by going to EENA, the European Emergency Number Association.
