Why was 911 decided to be the shorthand dial for emergency numbers? Why not other combinations that are easier to remember (e.g. 111, 123, etc.)?

Question

Why was 911 decided to be the shorthand dial for emergency numbers? Why not other combinations that are easier to remember (e.g. 111, 123, etc.)?

In: Other

Answer 1

The idea was to make it fast and not error prone. Dial phones take 9 times as long to dial a 9 than a 1. The 9 is hard to dial accidentally, and then the 11 takes minimum time, since it’s an emergency.