I have real problems with people going into wilderness areas with cell phones and calling out for rescue when they've sprained their ankles. There are debates that flare up every so often about the ability to go somewhere on the planet where you truly have to rely on your own skills and strength. I've been on rescues into wilderness areas, but the word arrived on foot from a member of the party or a passing hiker. The old days. For those severely injured and in need of immediate rescue, cellphones (that can get service) are a godsend. For those who hurt themselves a little bit and who don't feel like limping out or figuring out how to solve their problem, they're a crutch. And that's my complaint--when the phone is along people are less likely to be resourceful in staying out of trouble or getting out of trouble themselves.

In urban areas cities are papered with the things and they effect the way emergency responders are being trained. I took a recent CPR class in which they have dropped some of the usual old instructions to check for pulse--"the emergency responders will be there within three or four minutes, so all you have to do is keep them breathing and be sure the circulation is continuing." I had trouble dropping out big chunks of my former training because my advanced first aid training had to do with wilderness situations where you were trying to not only keep them alive but transport them out before the trained medical staff could get their hands on them. So in urban areas, the more the merrier, despite the racket they make. Emergency responders are building their presence into their training. You might be dead without one around.

SRS