Clearly in this case for him calling 911 was a mistake, because it made him more likely to be mildly beaten up, arrested, and thrown in jail. The outcome of this particular situation revealed that calling 911 has a bigger potential downside than he had previously fully considered; it's a public service to share that information.
Calling lyft, uber, or any other cab-type service probably would have worked fine in this scenario too. Because cops have a known tendency to be violent idiots who make situations worse by their presence, the fact that calling 911 automatically brings cops along with EMTs is a problem.
Perhaps what we need is to find or set up some sort of emergency number that just brings EMTs but doesn't also bring cops, and program that number into our phones. You might still want to call 911 for a freeway accident where cops are needed to redirect traffic, but not for something like this.
it made him more likely to be mildly beaten up, arrested, and thrown in jail.
What caused that wasn't his calling 911, it was his failing to go away when the cop told him to.
calling 911 has a bigger potential downside than he had previously fully considered
No, continuing to pester cops when they've told you to go away has a bigger potential downside than he had previously fully considered. By blaming it all on his calling 911, he's not only giving bad advice to others, he's failing to properly adjust his own behavior.
Calling lyft, uber, or any other cab-type service probably would have worked fine in this scenario too.
And if that was the option the injured person had chosen, that would be fine. But she asked him to call 911. If he had called Lyft instead, that would have been a huge mistake.
Perhaps what we need is to find or set up some sort of emergency number that just brings EMTs but doesn't also bring cops
That would be nice, but I suspect it would end up being misused enough (EMTs being called to a scene that should have had cops summoned as well) that it would end up working the same as the 911 we have now.
No. Trying to use his "How to Make Friends and Influence People" social engineering talents on the cops was his mistake. Calling them was the right thing to do.
EMTs often need cops in urban situations because douchenozzle bystanders (not just this guy) want to get involved in the situation. It's bizarre.
I really hope that, if anyone is ever injured in your presence, especially if they lose consciousness AT ALL, you'll call 911 and not Lyft. WTF.
Calling lyft, uber, or any other cab-type service probably would have worked fine in this scenario too. Because cops have a known tendency to be violent idiots who make situations worse by their presence, the fact that calling 911 automatically brings cops along with EMTs is a problem.
Perhaps what we need is to find or set up some sort of emergency number that just brings EMTs but doesn't also bring cops, and program that number into our phones. You might still want to call 911 for a freeway accident where cops are needed to redirect traffic, but not for something like this.