iPhone 14 Crash Detection helped rapid response to serious crash
The iPhone 14 crash detection feature has been credited with prompting a rapid police response to an early-morning pickup truck crash that left one or more occupants unconscious.
The accident happened on the island state of Tasmania, on the Australian coast, outside a town with a population of just 170 people. Given the small population, and 1:45 a.m. timing, accident detection may have played an important role in ensuring prompt assistance…
All five people in the van were injured, with four of them still in hospital at the time of writing. The truck was hauling a horsebox with four horses on board. Unfortunately, the horse box overturned, and none of the horses survived.
ABC News reports.
Five people were taken to hospital and four horses died after a four-wheel drive carrying a horse raft crashed into a tree stump in Tasmania’s north.
The white Ford Ranger crashed at 1.45am on Monday after leaving the Batman Highway at Rowella, north of Launceston.
The police were automatically notified by an accident detection feature on one of the passengers’ iPhones and reached the scene within eight minutes.
The occupants, who range in age from 14 to 20, were all taken to Launceston General Hospital.
Tasmania Police Inspector Ruth Orr said a combination of luck and accident detection enabled a quick response.
Of the automatic crash alert sent by one of the occupants’ mobile phones, Inspector Orr said the quick response time was aided by police “being in the area on an unrelated matter”.
“But in a case where people have lost consciousness in an accident like this, it’s definitely something that alerts the police quickly.”
The victims were members of a horse racing stable returning from a race in Hobart, about 150 miles away.
Crash Detection has undoubtedly already saved lives. In December, a car left a road in California and plunged 300 feet into a canyon, in an area with no cellular coverage. An iPhone 14 belonging to one of the passengers not only saw Crash Detection, but also used the new Emergency SOS via satellite feature to make an emergency call. The victims were rescued by helicopter, with video footage showing the full extent of the accident.
However, the feature also generates hundreds of false alerts during activities such as skiing and roller coaster rides, with automated calls putting a strain on 911 centers. So far this has led to mixed advice, with some centers saying they’d rather have false alarms than risk people not getting help in a real emergency, while others have asked people to disable the feature.
Anyone who engages in activities that could cause false alarms can help by checking their devices after a fall to ensure that an emergency call has not been made without your knowledge. If so, the advice is to call back to let the operator know you’re okay. Don’t worry about making a 911 call in this situation: You’re helping ensure that emergency resources aren’t wasted searching for you.
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