Cell phone generate 20,000,000 accidental 911 calls per year.
One of the most common experiences is hearing construction noise, dispatchers say. They figure that is probably because construction workers wear phones on their belts and are likely to bump into things.
"You hear people building roofs, walking on gravel. That is a sound we have actually learned to recognize," Chupinski said.
"Saws and hammering," echoed Paula Wells, communications supervisor of the CHP's Los Angeles dispatch center. "Or you hear schoolteachers with kids in the background. I've even heard the Pledge of Allegiance."
