Health + Safety

Cell phone / Distracted driving traffic fatalities: 3,477 in 2015 (NHTSA)
Alcohol related traffic fatalities: 10,265 in 2015 (CDC)

Emergency + Disaster Response

Multiple network / communication options
GPS location / locator info
Quickly communicate + share crucial data / via individual communications + filtered social media posts

considerations

Network outages / sole reliance
Waiting on alerts to be issues - Evacuations
What are communication / alert system alternatives
Assumption of accessibility - both devices + to alert / emergency services

NIXLE Site

Alternative Communication Networks / Tech

What happens when maintaining, growing and repairing wireless networks are prioritized over landlines + other communication networks?

From WIRED 10/9/2017 Report of Telecommunications Status in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

Of 25 main central offices for wired telephone service, two are out of commission due to lack of power, which means roughly 20 of 78 remote switching units are also out of service. Of 1,600 cellular sites, at least 1,300 are out of service. Of four fiber-optic providers in Puerto Rico, one is mostly broken and one is completely down. Roughly 75 percent of fiber coverage, including cellular service, isn’t working, and neither is about 40 percent of the wired network.

HAM Radio used in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria - NPR

American Red Cross requested 50 HAM Operators from the ARRL to aid with communication systems / disaster relief.

From CNN Article
"A full week after Maria battered their homes, Resto and two dozen other Puerto Rican ham operators were still running radio operations for the police and the local power company, whose own wireless communications systems rely in part on computers and power sources knocked out by the storm."