One iPhone feature you never want to have to test in real life is the crash detection feature which debuted last year with the iPhone 14 series. Crash detection works on the iPhone14 and iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 8 or later, second-generation Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra or later. Watches must run watchOS 9 or later. This feature is designed to detect serious car accidents, including frontal impacts, side impacts, rear-end collisions and rollovers.
The other day, an incident occurred that allowed those involved to see the iPhone’s crash detection feature working in real life. The details were
posted on Reddit by the owner of a BMW E92 who turned right and saw the driver of a BMW E90 pull out in front of him.
The car passenger wrote in a
separate Reddit account“I was in my first car accident as a passenger and the doctors were surprised that we came away with only a few broken bones. Thanks to the Apple
SOS feature for calling 911 when I was in where I couldn’t, and for informing my emergency contacts of the situation. He also posted a screenshot showing what was on his
iPhone when Crash Detection took over, which you can see under the title of this article.
One of the BMW cars involved in the accident
The passenger also noted that the feature worked great, even for emergency contacts who use an Android handset, as both of her parents do. They were both informed of the accident. Crash Detection will use text messages when necessary to alert emergency contacts of an incident and tell them where it occurred while also notifying emergency services of the accident.
iPhone Crash Detection Feature Can Save Your Life
When an impact has been detected, your iPhone or Apple Watch will sound an alert and display an alert which it will read. If you only have an iPhone with you, an emergency call slider appears on the screen and the call to emergency services can be made through the phone. If you only have the Apple Watch with you, the device will touch your wrist, sound an alarm, and display the emergency slider. If you have both your iPhone and a cellular-enabled Apple Watch, the cursor only appears on the watch and when the emergency services call is connected, it will be broadcast through the watch.
Let’s go through the process again. Once the alert sounds, you can call emergency services or ignore the alert. If you do not respond after 20 seconds, emergency services are called and your emergency contacts are notified that you have been involved in a serious accident. The message they receive includes your location. If you have set up your Medical ID, a Medical ID slider will appear on the screen allowing you to share important health information with emergency responders.
It’s nice to have such a feature, as Pixel users know from the Pixel 3. Even better is knowing that the feature is there but you never had to use it.
