Question of the day: Should there be a world-wide universal emergency number?

By Khara Huberman
April 25th, 2011
Section: Opinions - Question of the Day

According to the European Union’s website, 27-member countries use 112 as their emergency number, enabling citizens to call for emergency services from any location in the EU.

Many member states introduced 112 as a number working alongside their national emergency numbers. For example, in the United Kingdom, citizens can either call 112 or their national number 999 in case of distress.

Croatia, Turkey, Iceland and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are candidates for the system. Mean while Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo are potential candidates to use the 112 emergency number under UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

Of course, the United States uses 911 as its national emergency number, as does Canada but Mexico has three different numbers for police, medical and fire emergencies.

So what about tourism? If someone is traveling in a new country, how will they call for help in case of an emergency?

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