Apple’s new crash detection featureAvailable on iPhone 14 and select apple watch models, uses on-board sensors to detect a car crash and automatically contact emergency services if the user does not dismiss a crash alert within 20 seconds. Unfortunately, the feature is not accurate all the time.
Experts believe Apple’s crash detection system made its first erroneous emergency calls in Canada earlier this month (via The Globe and Mail).
Between Dec. 10 and 12, there were at least three instances where Crash Detection dispatched fake flares for emergency services in British Columbia.
On December 10, an Apple Watch notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Trail, British Columbia, that its wearer had been involved in a “serious car accident” in the nearby town of Rossland and provided GPS details.
“Officers and [Emergency Health Services] conducted long patrols for the alleged motor vehicle incident; however, the search was found to be empty,” the RCMP said in a news release. “Additionally, first responders have not received a motor vehicle incident report in the Rossland area.”
RCMP officers ultimately deduced that the call was likely made by mistake through Apple’s new security feature. “Investigators concluded that someone may have fallen while skiing at the local resort and the fall triggered the ‘serious car accident’ alert.”
The very next day, a snowmobile’s iPhone sent an emergency SOS from the backcountry of British Columbia. The alert led to an extensive search that included a helicopter flight, sending RCMP officers to Alberta door-to-door, and leaving taxpayers with a $10,000 bill.
“We were waiting for the problem from Apple,” said Kyle Hale, director of Golden and District Search and Rescue (GADSAR), which conducted the search, in an interview. “We kind of anticipated [Sunday’s call] being a false activation, but we had to re-energize her, so we got in a helicopter and flew 40 minutes in the middle of nowhere.
GADSAR managed to find the snowmobile, whose iPhone had sent the distress signal, unharmed but embarrassed. Hale estimated the search cost $10,000, paid for by the province.
On December 12, emergency services received a pair of crash alerts with GBPS coordinates from Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. The mountain’s ski patrol checked the suspected crash scene, but found no injured skiers or snowboarders. They concluded that the calls were also false alarms.
Similar behavior has been reported across the border in the United States, where Crash Detection confused everything with roller coaster rides to an iPhone flying off a bike for motor vehicle accidents.
Collision detection is enabled by default on all compatible devices. Canada’s search and rescue leaders say Apple needs to calibrate the sensitivity of the feature and really tune it for accuracy. They also want the tech giant to consider making Crash Detection an opt-in feature, which would allow users to disable it in situations where they think it might be triggered by mistake.
” I do not think so [Apple] represented the people of British Columbia who love the outdoors and go into the backwoods and literally crash into the backwoods, whether on mountain bikes, whether on skis,” said Dwight Yochim, a senior executive at the BC Search and Rescue Association, who reached out to Apple to raise concerns. “It clearly doesn’t take long to trigger it.”
Apple has worked with the BC Search and Rescue Association and North Shore Rescue to resolve the issue. The company Optimized crash detection to improve reliability in iOS 16.1.2 and added ability to report false alarms in iOS 16.2. “Users are encouraged to get the update,” Apple said.
Additionally, search and rescue organizations are concerned that collision detection may give adventurers a false sense of security, deterring them from carrying safety equipment such as avalanche beacons and satellite communication devices (which iPhone 14 can also work asto be fair).
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