iStockphoto / FreddyGood32
The Apple iPhone revolutionized day-to-day life for millions of not billions of people worldwide. It quickly made things like road atlases/maps obsolete and replaced the need for a landline telephone for many households.
Critics would argue the iPhone isn’t changing much from generation to generation. I tend to agree. This is why I wait a few years between purchasing them so the user experience feels noticeably better when I upgrade.
One of the newest safety features of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro as well as the latest Apple Watch models is Crash Detection. It is meant to detect a ‘severe car crash’ and immediately alert emergency services. The problem is that it these newer iPhones and Apple Watches keep calling emergency services on snowboarders and skiiers who fall going down the mountain.
Here is a KSL News report from Salt Lake City about the new iPhone crash detection causing problems for skiers and snowboarders:
That report claims that Salt Lake City County dispatchers ‘have seen some uptick in accidental emergency calls’ from skiers up on the mountains. The iPhone crash detection technology works where if the iPhone owner/user crashes, they are prompted with an emergency message. They then have 10 seconds to cancel the ‘911’ call if they are okay.
This report out of Salt Lake City astutely points out that skiers and snowboarders have no idea the message has even been activated when they crash. The Salt Lake City dispatcher told the local news she is receiving ‘maybe 3 to 5 a day’ accidental emergency calls from the new Apple Watch and iPhone crash detection technology.
Should you receive an emergency call after wiping out and aren’t able to respond to the dispatcher it could waste valuable resources. There are only so many emergency responders in any given area. So in situations where you anticipate falling down all day you might want to leave the iPhone back in a locker or in the car. It could free up invaluable emergency resources.
It is fascinating that the iPhone and Apple Watch perceive a wipeout on the slopes similar to a ‘severe car crash’. This has me feeling a bit better about the times I’ve wiped out and felt like I’d severely hurt myself but my friends told me to get up and walk it off.