Apple car crash detection feature raises 71 false alarms

At the launch of the iPhone 14 series, Apple announced a new car crash detection function. This feature is available in the Apple iPhone and Apple Watch. According to Apple, the feature will automatically seek help from the emergency department when there is a danger of a car accident. While this feature has helped in some cases, there are now many, maybe too many false alarms. About two weeks ago, the Search and Rescue Association of Columbia, Canada complained that these false alarms increase the task of rescuers and consume resources. Although Apple claims that there is an update for the feature, a recent report reveals that the issue still persists.

Apple crash detection has serious issues

There is now another report that reveals that 911 and emergency dispatchers across the United States have received a large number of false alarms. 911 rescue teams in Summit County, Colorado, received 71 false calls from four ski resorts over the weekend. These false alarms were caused by skiers accidentally triggering the "car accident detection" function. Like in Canada, this left rescuers miserable. Of course, it consumes a lot of time and resources.

Many Americans choose skiing for relaxation during the Christmas holidays. Thus several skiing counties had large false alarms coming from them. Examples are Grand County, Eagle County, Pitkin County, Routt County, Summit County and others. Local dispatchers were struggling to deal with a flood of false alarms from skiers, tying up emergency response resources. When a 911 call comes in, each call is processed in the order in which it arrives. Thus, the auto call from a skier's cell phone could delay the response to a 911 call with a real emergency.

911 dispatchers aren’t trained to ignore calls. This means even accidental calls caused by the iPhone 14’s features must be dealt with. The call will consume resources, says Trina Dummer, interim director of the Summit County 911 Center... “These calls from the dispatcher to the deputy to the ski patrol, it takes up a lot of resources."