by Police are urging people to download an app that could make the difference between life and death.
what3words is a revolutionary way of communicating people’s location, which is vital in an emergency.
He divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares, and gave each square a unique combination of three words: a what3words address.
What three words know the exact location of a place from the side of a highway to remote areas?
The app is free to download for both iOS and Android and works completely offline, making it ideal for use in areas of the UK with an unreliable data connection, such as rural back roads and motorways.
The app is now used by over 85 per cent of UK emergency services (police, fire and ambulance) and has become an important tool in the emergency toolkit.
While not intended to replace traditional safety equipment, the technology has saved dispatchers and first responders valuable time and resources in an emergency.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “‘Where is the emergency?’ is one of the first questions you’re asked when calling 999, but describing exactly where you are can be challenging.
“Emergencies can happen anywhere, from a remote field in the Welsh countryside, to the side of the M1 or in the middle of Hyde Park.
“Services often can’t detect where you are automatically and dropped pins are hard to explain over the phone.
“Waypoint-based descriptions are prone to error and GPS coordinates are long and difficult to communicate.
“At best, this is a frustrating drain on resources.
“At worst, this can mean the difference between life and death.
“Emergency services are trained to collect as much location information as possible from callers and have access to a number of different technologies and methods that help them identify caller locations, with what3words being one of they.
“what3words has been used multiple times to help us ensure our resources are delivered exactly where help is needed, fast.”
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Superintendent Gareth Parkin of the GMP Safer Transport Team said: “Greater Manchester Police have been working in partnership with what3words and have proven to be highly successful and in some cases life saving in critical incidents in remote locations or areas hard to identify.
“what3words is fantastic and I strongly urge those who have access to a mobile phone or tablet to download the app and if they need to pinpoint your exact location down to the specific coordinate, you can rest easy knowing that we will know exactly where you are and can provide the support you need quickly.
“Sometimes it’s difficult and very distressing when you don’t know where you are, or can’t find help or can describe where you are.
“Should you call us in an emergency, you can tell our GMP call handlers your three simple words and we will be able to tell our officers and other emergency services where to go.”
