Emergency calls on US GSM cell phone?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Most of the time the places where I travel have 0 bars signal.

Raise the hood and a passing motorist will stop. They inevitably will proceed to where there is a cell signal and telephone for the correct help.

...

Even using headphones I have a hard time understanding even colloquial Spanish spoken at 400 words per minute.

Shame on you, senor Mex, after all those years and with local relatives, still "poco-poco" ;)... Though probably better than me. Any tips on how to flag down "un autobus" on the highway in those places in the middle of nowhere? Assuming there are few "topez" and a shoulder for such occasional stops, of course.

briansue wrote:
I once read an article that said every mile of the major highways is supposed to be covered twice per day by a Green Angel.

Yeah... A lot of things in Mexico are "supposed to" :)... I think Moisheh has hit the crux here - those Angels are present where they have some sort of incentive, like a reastaurant. On toll roads they (I guess) have some arrangements with government, to cover the gas cost and something else.

We have seen lots of Green Angels on roads other than cuotas. I once read an article that said every mile of the major highways is supposed to be covered twice per day by a Green Angel. And you can always call 078 if you have a cell and are in reach of service. I also read they now have more than 2,000 service vehicles. They also have some camper trailers and there was a program to escort groups of RVs around the country with a Green Angel camping with them. We saw a Green Angel escort with a group from Quebec at the Teotihuacan RV park a few years ago. They are all supposed to be able to speak English. We hired a retired Green Angel to drive us around Mexico City a few years ago. I have been seeing Green Angels around Mexico since my first trip in 1971 - before cuotas. I know there used to be a more extensive website about them but have been unable to find it now. I did find a couple more things about them. If you need you can download Google Translate and almost any foreign language will be translated - sort of - not perfect.

http://eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2014/01/11/angeles-verdes-ayudaron-mas-1-millon-turistas-2013

http://eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2014/09/12/angeles-verdes-refuerzan-servicio-carreteras

http://eleconomista.com.mx/angeles-verdes

Most of the time the places where I travel have 0 bars signal.

Raise the hood and a passing motorist will stop. They inevitably will proceed to where there is a cell signal and telephone for the correct help.

This is still Mexico not the USA. I stop for roadside breakdowns all the time in the 72 miles of absolutely no-signs-of-habitation between here and the nearest ATM machine. Most of the time they reply help is already on the way, but I have given several appreciative gentlemen a ride into town. This is not recommended in city, suburban, and heavily traveled routes.

Even using headphones I have a hard time understanding even colloquial Spanish spoken at 400 words per minute.

Green Angels patrol more than just toll roads. Lots of secondary roads are patrolled. If there is a good restaurant on the route the Angels will be there!
They are often on the route to Kino. A major restaurant gives them free Mariscos.

Moisheh

Road assistance services like Green Angels are only available on toll roads, AFAIK

Not so sure about that - we see them on all kinds of roads, toll and not, for the 9 yrs we've been coming. RYV

Moisheh is right, local emergency services are under-funded and over-worked. I didn't know Cruz Rojha were volunteers - hard to imagine in a country where majority of people already work hard every day just to put food on the table. If they are volunteers, this explains a lot. No fuel, old cars, and there could be just ONE car and it's doing some other call right now.

Police... There is certain stereotype about it (and certain truth to this stereotype), but if you consider that they are making an equivalent $US 400 per month, in a country where food and many other things cost same or more than in the US, their attitude is easier to understand.

Road assistance services like Green Angels are only available on toll roads, AFAIK.

The best result I had using a cell phone was leaving Saltillo several years ago; The transitos had been trying to get some pesos saying that I had been speeding (I was not). After playing with much less Spanish than I had (I'm reasonably conversant) I said that I didn't understand and was going to call my friend in Saltillo. The moment the cell phone came out and I started dialing we were sent on our way.

In many small communities the Cruz Roja cannot respond quickly due to a lack of funds. Sometimes they have to ask locals for $$ too buy fuel. Sometimes they have to borrow a battery as someone has stolen the ambulance battery! They are volunteers and try hard to do a proper job.

Moisheh

My impression has been that in every Mexican town you better use local phone numbers. There might be universal 06x service, but you should really know the RIGHT number for police and ambulance like Cruz Roja. Otherwise they will ping-pong you from one number to another, until you get the right one.

"Someone always comes along"?? Like they know when to come, sure...

It may take 2-3 hours for Cruz Roja to arrive, when their base is 20 minutes away. And, like I said, you won't get to the right number from the first attempt, unless you know one (and can "habla", which is more difficult on the phone than in person). If you can't talk and can't drive, your best option is to grab anybody whoever happens to be nearby and pray God that they will get you to the hospital where medics will (hopefully) figure it out by looking at you.