In Tasmania, Australia, a car crash involving five people and a horse float took place early Monday morning. The iPhone 14’s Crash Detection feature quickly alerted the nearest police station of the accident, even though the passengers were unconscious. The feature is available on the latest iPhone 14 and 2022 Apple Watch models and provides users with added safety on the road.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro automatically make an emergency phone call after a 20-second countdown in case of a car crash, and notify emergency contacts. If the user is unresponsive, an audio message is played for emergency services with their location information. In areas with no cellular coverage, the iPhone 14 contacts emergency services via satellite in available regions through Emergency SOS.
According to ABC News Australia, police arrived at the scene within eight minutes and got the five victims medical assistance. One of the victims had serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital in Melbourne. Tasmania Police Inspector Ruth Orr praised the new feature, saying “it alerts police quickly.” The iPhone 14’s Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via satellite features have also aided in rescuing a couple from a car crash in a remote canyon in California.
However, the feature has also caused some trouble for emergency services due to false alerts, especially among skiers and roller coaster riders. Apple addressed this issue by changing the Emergency SOS call behavior on iOS 16.3 to prevent false alerts.
