Emergency Calls In Spain

[Jennykenny]

I know that the emergency number in Spain, generally, is 112, but what would you call on a British mobile?? 00 34 112???

[Old_Geezer]

112

[Buenchico]

When you make a normal call in the UK your phone connects only to the service of your own provider. (i.e. if you've got a Vodafone SIM your phone connects to a Vodafone mast. If you're out of range of a Vodafone mast you can't make a call). However '112' connects to any[i phone provider, so if you're out of range of a Vodafone mast, but within the signal area of an EE one (for example), you can still make your emergency call.

When abroad a Vodafone mobile will normally roam and connect to one of Vodafone's partners (or to Vodafone ES), which will then route your call back to Vodafone UK, which sees the number you've entered in exactly the same way as if you were at home. However '112' again 'breaks the rules' and connects to whichever service is offering the strongest signal [i]and then directs your call to the emergency service operator of that provider]. (i.e. it does NOT route your call back to the UK but, instead, directs it to the LOCAL emergency system).

So all you need to dial in Spain is 112. That number normally works when a phone is locked, when it's out of credit and even when there's no SIM in it. It even works in many non-EU counties, such as the USA (where it automatically diverts to 911).

[Prudie]

So could you dial 999 then when in Spain???

[Buenchico]

>>>So could you dial 999 then when in Spain???

No. The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications recommended in 1972 that 112 should be the standard emergency number across the whole of Europe. That decision was formalised by a decision of the EU Council in 1991.

999 can be used in a few (mainly non-European countries):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999_%28emergency_telephone_number%29

When I ran a railway station I needed to call the emergency services on many occasions. (Several fights, a couple of suspected fires, a stabbing, a suspected heart attack, various other medical emergencies, etc). I always used 112 as I tend to think of 999 as 'old-fashioned' and I still use 112 when, for example, reporting an emergency on a motorway. In 2009 the European Commission the European Commission and the Council of Europe signed a convention committing each to promote the 112 number on 'European 112 Day', which is on the 11th February each year. I have yet to see our Government doing much about it!

[Jennykenny]

Many thanks, very good explanation.
Ps what railway station did you run if you don't mind telling us, or would that revel your true identity?

[hc4361]

It's a secret but Buenchico is The Fat Controller.

Don't tell anyone.