USA
iPhones paralyze small ski resorts with automated emergency calls
Nothing happens: Apple devices paralyzed a small ski resort in the USA with emergency calls.
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It’s one of the newest features on iPhones: if the device determines that you’ve fallen or been involved in an accident, your smartphone can dial emergency services all by itself. A small ski resort in the USA suffered from this.
The “fall detection” and “crash detection” functions in iPhones and Apple Watches basically sound very reasonable: the devices should use the countless sensors to detect whether the user has fallen or been involved in an accident. The device then first asks if everything is okay, whereupon the user can dial the emergency call directly or end the process. If there is no response, the iPhone or Watch assumes the user is unable to do so and calls 911 itself.
These functions have now become problematic in a ski resort in the USA: There, a number of recreational athletes wanted to ski and snowboard down the slopes – a process that naturally involves a lot of jerks and vibrations, even without accidents. It’s obvious enough to have all the warning lights come on on athletes’ devices.
71 false 911 calls in one weekend
That’s not all: Wrapped up in thick winter clothing, many of the winter sports enthusiasts didn’t notice that their smartphone was on high alert and thus ensured that the devices automatically dialed the emergency call. In total, the police in Summit County (pop. 30,000, Colorado) received 71 automated 911 calls in a single weekend.
An enormous effort for the control center: First, the rescuers tried to call the iPhone users back by phone. If that didn’t work, they even asked slope helpers to check on site. In not a single case did they actually discover an accident.
Instead of providing help in an emergency, the function is a great burden for the helpers, as the interim director of the Summit County 911 Center explains in the “Colorado Sun”: “It is not our practice to ignore calls,” says Trina Dummer. “These calls require a tremendous amount of resources, from dispatchers to deputies to ski patrols. And I don’t think we’ve ever had a real emergency.”
Source: “Colorado Sun”