Emergency location app for your cell phone

[devon deer]

This is a brilliant app and is already saving peoples lives, it tells the rescue services exactly where you are, not that I really need it in the UK but it would be useful where you live I believe, even when not out hunting

About us | what3words

About what3words | what3words is a really simple way to talk about location. People use what3words to find their tents at festivals, navigate to B&B’s, and to direct emergency services to the right place.

what3words.com

Cheers
Richard

 

[tamps102]

Thanks for this

 

[devon deer]

I have lifted the following report from a BBC News item, this APP works really well, I guess if you use your phone as a GPS unit it isn't required, but it just might help someone.

'A woman trapped inside her overturned car in a ditch at night was rescued after being found with a location app.
Police said the woman had no idea where she was when she crashed near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on Friday and other drivers could not see her car.
However, she managed to phone her father in Shrewsbury. He talked her through using the What3words app to get an exact location.
North Yorkshire Police were able to get to her within four minutes of a call.
The app divides the world into 3m squares and gives each one a unique three-word address in order for people to be easily found in emergencies.
North Yorkshire roads policing unit said the woman, from Shropshire, had crashed down an embankment, about 20ft from the road.
"All that was on view was the dark underside of the car," they said.
It is not known how long the woman was trapped.'

 

[Mudder]

I just put this app on my phone and it has some really good features. If you have Google maps and/or Google Earth on your phone there are buttons at the bottom of the app page that will show you your location on either Maps or Earth, along with the latitude and longitude in both formats. Googles "Find my device" app won't do this.

 

[GlockZ]

Interesting app.

 

[HiZ]

Hmm, anyone use things in no man's land yet

 

[Learner]

I've used this app in other countries where getting an address isn't going to happen, as well as in the woods in the USA. The app works very well, but it does rely on someone else knowing what you're talking about and also having the app. I also have a Garmin watch, which has the "what 3 words" "widget" so it will display the location address on your watch screen using the GPS without the phone.

For rescue, one of the simplest things to do with an iPhone is to open the normal compass app that is loaded onto every iPhone. It'll give you a lat/long that you can either screenshot or copy/paste in a message. Rescue helicopter pilots will love someone sending them the lat/long over most other methods.

 

[oldman-t]

This is a brilliant app and is already saving peoples lives, it tells the rescue services exactly where you are, not that I really need it in the UK but it would be useful where you live I believe, even when not out hunting

About us | what3words

About what3words | what3words is a really simple way to talk about location. People use what3words to find their tents at festivals, navigate to B&B’s, and to direct emergency services to the right place.

what3words.com

Cheers
Richard

Hadn't heard of this app will check it out

 

[WyoDoug]

I use both On-X Maps and Google Earth on the phone and both show my current location in a variety of formats.

I also use my Garmin GPS which has the On-X chip and built in maps that also shows current location.

I have never gotten lost once I bought my first Garmin. I am hooked on both the cell phone and GPS devices. I still have an old fashioned map, compass and protractor that I carry in my pack just in case both of the fancier devices fail.