The Highway Helpers

While driving south on Interstate 75 in Florida, Mary O'Rourke of Jacksonville Beach, her daughter and grandson suddenly felt dizzy and nauseated. Sighting a sign reading MOTORIST AID CALL BOX, O'Rourke braked to a stop and followed the simple instructions on the box. Then she lost consciousness. Minutes later, a rescue unit arrived and rushed the family to a nearby hospital, where doctors treated them for carbon-monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty muffler.

The O'Rourkes are among the thousands of motorists who credit emergency call boxes with saving their lives on the nation's highways. The devices made their first appearance in Massachusetts five years ago, and have since been installed along interstates in Florida and Illinois. In Massachusetts, where 858 boxes are in operation, some 200 requests for help come through each day. Illinois' 165 boxes were used for 3,872 calls last year, and this year's total is expected to rise higher. As incentive for states to try the system, the Federal Government provides 90% of the cost (about $1,800 per box) along interstates and 70% on secondary routes.

The electronic highway helpers vary in design, but most are batteryless, wireless contraptions about the size of a fuse box. They are usually mounted on sign posts at convenient intervals along the highway. To operate one, the distressed driver simply pulls down a lever-like cover, which winds up a small generator inside the device and exposes a panel with buttons labeled in both English and Spanish: SERVICE, POLICE, MEDICAL and CANCEL. When the motorist presses the appropriate button, the generator produces electricity. This energizes a solid-state FM radio transmitter, which sends a signal to a console at highway-patrol headquarters. There, dispatchers record the location of the box and call for a tow truck, ambulance, fire engine or squad car. Help usually reaches the motorist within 30 minutes.

So far, the majority of distress signals have come from drivers with flat tires, empty gas tanks, and other auto trouble. Some 10% of the requests are for police assistance; in Massachusetts, for example, police answered a call from a woman who had jumped out of a car after her husband began beating her.

State authorities are pleased with the performance of the boxes, which require little maintenance and are virtually vandal proof. Also, says John Mann of the Illinois Department of Transportation, "the call boxes get help without a lot of talking." This is particularly important because motorists in trouble are often nervous and disconcerted and may give a wrong location when phoning for help.

Nevertheless, the states are planning distinctive touches of their own for the boxes such as a tone sounder that lets motorists know that their signal has been received. In Illinois, the department of transportation has attached a sign on each box telling the motorist how long he can expect to wait for help. As one official explains: "At midnight, five minutes can seem like an hour."

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