The latest Apple devices including the iPhone 14 series and probably the Apple Watches should not be used near rollercoasters. But why? The iPhone 14’s new Crash Detection feature. When active, the feature will detect if a user is involved in accident and it triggers a call to the authorities. I am sure you can see where we are going with this. People with iPhones on rollercoasters seem to be triggering the feature and the phones end up dialing the local authorities. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said that the feature has had law enforcement sent to amusement parks on numerous occasions after mistaking a thrill ride’s twists, turns, and hard braking for a real emergency.
Apple rolled out Crash Detection with its new iPhone 14, Watch Series 8, SE, and Ultra last month, equipping the devices with a gyroscopic sensor and high-g accelerometer trained on the impact experienced with simulated car crashes. If the sensors detect that you’ve been in an accident, your iPhone will display an alert and call emergency services if you don’t dismiss it within 20 seconds.
When the feature calls law enforcement, it will play an audio message that alerts authorities you’ve been in a crash, and also provides them with your location. (An Apple Watch with Crash Detection can only notify authorities if you have your iPhone with you, or if it’s connected to a mobile network or Wi-Fi.)
As expected most of these incidences are happening in countries where the feature works like the USA. Several YouTubers have been testing this feature in a demolition derby-style experiment and most findings show that it isn’t entirely reliable.
Using smartphones on rides isn’t really a smart idea to begin with, but the risk of false emergency calls to authorities might be all the more reason to leave the iPhone 14 (and other devices) behind before getting in that bumper car. Otherwise, you can opt to put your phone on airplane mode or just disable the feature altogether.
