I knew  about the red light on cars, but not the *77. A friend of mine send me an e-mail the other night. It read:

It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents had always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.

Lauren had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.

Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy f rom the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, (and we realtors are on the road a lot) you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a safe place.

Speaking to a service representative at  Bell Mobility confirmed that *77 was a direct link to State trooper info. Let your friends and loved ones know about this important feature; it may save a life. And remember, this applies to ALL 50 states.