Apple’s Crash Detection feature triggers false 911 calls from skiers

A recent report from KSL explains how Apple’s new Crash Detection feature triggers unwanted 911 calls.

Dispatchers in Summit County, Utah, have received an influx of Crash Detection calls, but most aren’t related to car accidents.

Instead, the alert goes off while people are skiing at nearby ski resorts. And many of these Crash Detection alerts come when a skiing accident hasn’t even occurred.

And this happens more often than you’d think. For instance, this Reddit user explains how his Apple Watch dialed 911 while he was going down a hill.

Apple’s new Crash Detection feature in the iPhone 14 and new Apple Watches alerts emergency services when it thinks you’ve been in an accident.

But it sometimes triggers when users are skiing fast down a mountain.

Crash Detection has a built-in safeguard against false alerts. When your iPhone or Apple Watch detects what it thinks is a crash, you have about 20 seconds to cancel the alert.

However, you likely won’t hear or feel the alert if you’re busy zooming down a mountain. So your device alerts emergency services, leaving you to explain yourself.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Apple’s Crash Detection sending out false alerts.

The same issue was recently discovered by theme park customers after a roller coaster ride triggered the crash detection alert.

But it also potentially saved a life in one man’s case. At the end of the day, Crash Detection is an amazing feature. But it could possibly use some tweaking going forward.

READ MORE: How to disable Crash Detection on iPhone

Crash Detection is available on the new iPhone 14 and the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra, and the new Apple Watch SE.

Keep that in mind if you plan on skiing down a mountain this winter.

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