After a Tragic accident occurred early in the morning, the Crash Detection feature in the iPhone 14 could notify the authorities instantly, bringing help to the victims within minutes.
According to Australia’s ABC News, at 1:45 a.m. on Monday in Tasmania, a four-wheel drive truck pulling a horse float struck a tree stump. Even though the passengers were asleep, Crash Detection warned the local police, who were able to arrive at the site in less than eight minutes.
Five patients between 14 and 20 were taken to the hospital, and an air ambulance was used to fly a seriously injured patient to Melbourne. Immediate assistance can make a significant difference in situations where the injuries are life-threatening. According to Tasmania Police Inspector Ruth Orr, “In a case where persons had lost consciousness in a crash like this, it is something that notifies police swiftly.” Additionally, officers were already in the neighborhood, which sped up response times.
The iPhone 14 versions from Apple have only been available for four months. Nevertheless, the Crash Detection feature and the Emergency SOS via Satellite function, which may call the police when WiFi and cellular connectivity are unavailable, have already assisted numerous accident victims.
Unfortunately, false positives from crash detection might annoy rescue personnel in the vicinity of theme parks and ski resorts. Summit County dispatchers in Utah reported a significant increase in unintentional 911 calls in November, and just this week, a report from The Japan News claimed that the Kita-Alps Nagano Fire Department had received 134 false calls in total, the majority of which were caused by Crash Detection and took place between December 16 and January 23.
Despite the inconvenience, Japanese firefighters advise against turning off Crash Detection. They said that because it is a useful feature in the event of a serious accident, we cannot require people to turn it off.
With the iOS 16.1.2 update, Apple changed Crash Detection, improving it to reduce false positives. However, reports from December revealed that many unintended calls were still reaching 911 dispatchers. Jamie FitzSimons, sheriff of Utah’s Summit County, stated in December that Apple is aware of the issue and that further improvement is required. Fitzsimons stated, “It feels like we are attempting to transform a battleship into a bathtub. We are talking to Apple to persuade them to pay more attention to this.
