The iPhone 14 Crash Detection feature has been credited with helping bring about a rapid police response to a pickup truck crash in the early hours of the morning, which left one or more occupants unconscious.
The crash happened on the island state of Tasmania, off the Australian coast, outside a town with a population of just 170 people. Given the small population, and 1:45 a.m. timing, Crash Detection may have played a significant role in ensuring prompt help …
All five people in the pickup truck were injured, with four of them still in hospital at the time of writing. The truck was towing a horse box with four horses on board. Sadly, the horse box rolled over, and none of the horses survived.
ABC News reports.
Five people have been taken to hospital and four horses have died after a four-wheel drive towing a horse float 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.
Police were automatically notified via a crash detection feature on one of the passengers’ iPhones and reached the scene in eight minutes.
The occupants, ranging from 14 to 20 years of age, were all taken to the Launceston General Hospital.
Tasmania Police Inspector Ruth Orr said that a combination of good luck and Crash Detection enabled a rapid response.
Of the automatic crash alert sent by one of the occupant’s mobile phones, Inspector Orr said the quick response time was helped by police being “in the area on an unrelated matter”.
“But in a case where people had lost consciousness in a crash like this, it is certainly something that alerts police quickly.”
The victims were members of a horse racing stables, returning from a race in Hobart, some 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 triggered, 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 crash.
However, the feature has also been generating hundred of false alerts during activities like skiing and roller coaster rides, with automated calls placing a strain on 911 centers. So far, that’s led to mixed advice, with some centers saying they’d rather have false alarms than risk people not getting help in a genuine emergency, while others have asked people to disable the feature.
Anyone engaging in activities that might trigger false alerts can help by checking their devices after a fall, to ensure that an emergency call hasn’t been made without your knowledge. If it has, the advice is to call back to let the operator know that you are okay. Don’t be concerned about making a 911 call in this situation: You are helping ensure that emergency resources are not wasted looking for you.
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