I don't mean this as a criticism, since I know that panicky feeling myself from having speed dialed 911 accidentally and wanting to just hide in the closet but...I believe the appropriate thing to do would have been to stay on the line until an operator answered, and then explained it was a mistake. Takes a matter of seconds to accomplish (hopefully without a scolding thrown in!) and lets the operator get to the next call quickly. Anyway, that's what I did and it was very quick and painless--but my stomach was churning for a half minute until someone answered!

I don't think it's quite as bad as before, but I've read that many brands of cell phones have a built in 911 speed dial (press and hold 9, I think, like on Moto phones?) which sometimes unknowingly gets activated in people's pockets and purses and such. Emergency operators, due to their protocols, would spend untold hours each year either futiley listening to calls where the cell phone owner didn't know that their phone had dialed 911, or trying to call back calls that had been disconnected when the owner suddenly realizes that they had speed dialed 911 and hangs up. In California, where most cellular 911 calls within the state first go through the California Highway Patrol operators, the time and associated costs to the CHP were pretty staggering. I think most phone manufacturers have tended to drop that built in 911 speed dial "feature" from their more recent phones.

Also a "feature" I guess, but I'm a teeny tiny bit annoyed that my Nokia cell phone can dial 911 even though the key lock is engaged. I guess it's only annoying because I once pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw "911" on the screen even though the lock had been engaged. What the...? Fortunately, the send button hadn't been pushed so I was still OK. I understand that it's a safety feature--so people unfamiliar with your phone can call 911--but still, it's not even mentioned in the manual for the phone. And the phone itself does tell the user how to unlock the keys--although little consolation in a panic situation or someone not familiar with English who can't dial 911 on your phone.