Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On Oct. 10, Apple launched a car accident detection feature on its latest iPhone 14 series in September, which aims to automatically call the police and call an emergency number in the event of a car accident. However, the feature seems to have caused an own problem recently, with some people constantly calling 911 when they ride the roller coaster.

Not long ago, Sara White, a 39-year-old dentist, took her family to King's Island Amusement Park on the outskirts of Cincinnati and carried the two-day-old iPhone 14 Pro in her pocket. When she was speeding at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour at an altitude of more than 30 meters, she found several missed calls and voicemails from the emergency department on the lock screen of her phone, asking if she was all right.

It turns out that when White was on the roller coaster, the accident detection function on the iPhone was triggered and automatically dialed the 911 emergency number. The calls were called to the Warren County County Communication Center, and White's iPhone sent an automatic voice message: "the owner of this iPhone has been in a serious car accident and did not respond to her phone."

The message was repeated seven times during the call. When the phone makes an emergency call and plays an automatic message, it also extracts background audio from the scene, including screams and other playground noises. After receiving the alarm, an emergency team was immediately sent to the amusement park, but they did not find the accident.

It is reported that since the release of iPhone 14, the Warren County Communication Center has received six similar incidents. A roller coaster at six Flags Great American Park (Six Flags Great America) near Chicago triggered a similar number of alarms. In addition, many iPhone 14 owners claim that they will automatically call 911 when their new phone drops on the ground while they are driving.

Apple's car accident detection function uses a combination of data from multiple sensors. If it detects a car accident, a 10-second warning is displayed on the screen, followed by a 10-second countdown, accompanied by an alarm. After the countdown is over, the mobile phone will automatically call the emergency number, send a distress message and provide a detailed location. If there is an emergency contact on the phone, it will text them.

As one of the most popular features of Apple's new phone, car accident detection has begun to show its usefulness. Recently, an iPhone 14 notified authorities of a fatal accident in Nebraska in which a car crashed into a tree and no eyewitness immediately called for help.

An Apple spokesman said the car accident detection algorithm used more than 1 million hours of accident data and was verified by real driving and crash tests. He added that the feature was "extremely accurate in detecting serious car accidents" and that the company had optimized it to minimize false positives.

However, an algorithm that cannot tell the difference between a roller coaster ride and a fatal accident can trigger a false alarm. There may not be many false positives these days, but the frequency is increasing. This is likely to become more frequent as more and more people buy Apple's new phones and watches.

The algorithm automatically reports to the police that there has been a serious car accident, rather than a possible accident. Text messages sent to emergency contacts also said directly that a mobile phone or watch had "detected a car accident". In response, an Apple spokesman said that the technology is reassuring and that Apple will continue to improve it over time.

On Sept. 17, Douglas Sanders (Douglas Sonders) was riding a motorcycle on the West side Highway in New York City when his new iPhone 14 Pro Max flew out of the handlebars. He thought he had lost his phone, so he rode to the Apple store with his friends and bought another one.

At the same time, Sanders' car accident detection function on iPhone was triggered, alerting the emergency department, and all his emergency contacts received text messages. Sanders' girlfriend Gabriel Kennedy (Gabrielle Kennedy) said: "I was scared. I had thought of the worst. My best friend also died in a car accident, which reminds me of bad memories."

Sanders' mother also received the automatic text message, and she was also very worried. "Douglas, tell someone to call me back," she said in a voicemail to her son. "if you're okay, please let me know." Eventually, the two women got in touch with a friend of Sanders, who confirmed that Sanders was alive and in good health.

At the six Flags American Paradise, Marcus Nguyen was lucky to ride the Joker roller coaster. At the end of the trip, he said, he heard an alarm going off on the iPhone 14 Pro, but "I was still tied to my car and couldn't reach my phone. I finally turned it off before the countdown was over."

These developments are not entirely unexpected, as Apple has said signs of a car accident may include sudden deceleration or parking. "A lot of parks promote the acceleration of roller coasters, but they won't tell you that the speed will eventually drop from 64 kilometers per hour to zero," said John Stevenson, founder of roller coaster and theme park website Coaster101. He has been on more than 280 different roller coasters and explained that when the roller coaster finally slows down, there may be a sudden brake.

Stevenson agrees with the rule made by the theme park not to take a mobile phone when boarding an amusement facility, mainly because it may fly away and hit people. A spokesman for King's Island Amusement Park said visitors are prohibited from carrying mobile phones on the roller coaster and they must ensure that bulk items do not pose a threat to the safety of tourists.

Generally speaking, false alarms annoy paramedics sent to the scene. "We are highly alert to incoming calls and respond to any calls, but these non-emergency alarms make emergency workers feel exhausted," said Melissa Bour, an emergency official in Warren County.

Next, it is hoped that Apple will release updates to help these devices distinguish between roller coasters and crashes. At the same time, when people take the iPhone 14 or the new Apple Watch on board the rides, it is best to switch them to flight mode. Or, simply disable the feature.

But for motorcyclist Saunders, despite some confusion caused by his iPhone, he still uses the car accident detection function. "I have proved that this function is very effective," he said. my mother is very grateful that if I had a car accident, they would find me faster. "

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