Basically, Apple’s new accident detection is a really useful feature. However, the situation is not always assessed correctly. False alarms are a regular occurrence, especially in amusement parks.
What do roller coaster rides and car accidents have in common? In both cases there are sudden changes in speed, atypical changes in direction, changes in air pressure and loud noises. This can become a problem for the latest generation of Apple users.
Because the newly introduced accident detection, which is used in both the iPhone 14 and the Apple Watch Series 8, cannot always tell roller coaster rides and car accidents apart due to these similarities. As the Wall Street Journal reports , since it was released a month ago, the devices at the US amusement park “Kings Island” have sent an emergency call by mistake six times, even though the porters were only having fun in a ride. Similar situations have already arisen in other amusement parks.
As soon as the iPhone or the Apple Watch wants to have detected a car accident, the wearers get a message that they can dismiss within a certain period of time. If this does not happen, an emergency call is automatically made. “The owner of this iPhone was involved in a serious car accident and is not responding to his phone,” reads the announcement on the phone. Stored emergency contacts are also notified.
Apple has already responded to the reports and asserted that emergency detection is usually “extremely accurate”. Nevertheless, efforts are of course being made to further improve the function so that such false alarms can be avoided in the future. Until then, you should probably refrain from taking your Apple devices on a roller coaster.
