Apple Directs Users Not to Hang Up on Operators in Accidental Crash Detection Calls

[hortod1]

Apple keynote:

“We’re really excited to bring to the VR headset - our new false positive crash reduction system. We call it iSki - a virtual mountain so people crash less.

You no longer have to worry about expensive lift tickets, long lines, limited availability, or even winter! Ski from the comfort of your own home, any time! And for the ultimate experience pair it with our Apple hat and Apple mittens for just $900.

It’s better than an actual mountain - and we think you’ll agree”

 

[iOS Geek]

I think that this is good advice for everyone to know regarding calls to 911. If you make an accidental call, don’t hang up. If you do, they’re calling back immediately no matter what.

Yep, and if you don't answer, they're sending someone to the location to make sure you're ok and nothing happened. Always best to just explain that it was accidental!

 

[danakin]

In this “debate” the choice is whether to believe the 911 agencies and their concerns or the company that rolled out a “feature” that appears incomplete. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of grey area to me; Apple needs to solve for this, period.

Late last year, I think on the Apple Insider podcast, one of the hosts made the stupid and shortsighted statement that a provincial government in Canada should review its 911 funding if this Apple “feature” was causing issues. Truly the pinnacle of sycophantic Apple expression. Had to make sure the idiots iJustine or Rene Ritchie weren‘t show contributors.

 

[citysnaps]

"If the call has been made, but you don't need emergency services, don't hang up. Wait until a responder answers, then explain that you don't need help."

OMG...common sense. Yet many here seem to think it's OK to set that and personal responsibility aside. I'm shocked!

Poor parenting, apparently.

 

[sparkinstx]

I wonder if Crash Detection would have helped the Dallas Mavericks this season.

Maybe. Is it time for Cuban to sell? Or time for another coaching change?

 

[PauloSera]

This is one view.

Let me give you another standpoint - emergency services have limited capacity and because of these false calls reaction to actual emergency can be delayed and someone may die consequently.

That's not another standpoint. That's a hyperbolic, sensationalized view. Of course emergency services complain about every time they have a false alert. But that's what they're for. There are no reports anywhere of this feature causing strain leading to poor service, and no proof of that ever happening. Just hypothetical scenarios leading to misplaced whining. People should be bending over backwards for Apple for creating such an incredible life saving feature. Instead people whine that is not perfect...mostly people who are not first responders with no skin in the game. Pathetic.

 

[PauloSera]

"If the call has been made, but you don't need emergency services, don't hang up. Wait until a responder answers, then explain that you don't need help."

OMG...common sense. Yet many here seem to think it's OK to set that and personal responsibility aside. I'm shocked!

Poor parenting, apparently.

Careful there, suggesting people accept personal responsibility for anything these days will get you blacklisted.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

It’s hard because on the one hand, if I crash on the hill and I’m not able to call for help I want it to do it for me. But if I’m able to still move afterwards, and just don’t hear it calling, I don’t want that.

I’ve heard the geofence suggestion, and maybe for theme parks where the chances of you flying off the roller coaster is next to zero, but for ski resorts I do still want that to be triggered. Just maybe… refined. Which it sounds like they have been! So that’s good.

It may need to be a combined solution:
• Create a Sport mode (selected either manually or automatically using geofencing) so the crash algorithm would better understand the possibilities of an accident.
• Use geofencing to better "Guess" the different dangers: (Crash, fall, avalanche, etc.)

• This would be similar to what fall detection needs to understand: the difference between a real fall, quickly laying down on the floor, or jumping from a chair or ladder.​

• In case a crash/fall is detected, the geofencing information will assist Emergency services to better understand the situation.
• If a crash/fall is suspected but the user keeps moving, then it may have not been a crash, but just a sudden movement of the skier, cancelling the emergency call.

I'm sure there are some gaps in the idea, but it's a starting point.

 

[3530025]

Of course emergency services complain about every time they have a false alert. But that's what they're for.

Nope. Emergency services are not there to solve false alerts. That's major misunderstanding of 911 emergency call service.

Have some respect for our workers working for emergency services. Maybe some day you'll need it too - and you may receive late help because of some false automatic iPhone calls. Karma's free.

 

[RogueWarrior65]

This reminds me of that rash of scam phone calls where the robodialer says authoritatively, "DO NOT HANG UP..."
Seriously though, the geofencing thing sounds like a good idea but what if you're actually IN a serious skiing accident like say, you're trying to ski down Corbet's Couloir and you fall breaking a leg. Seems to me that a better analysis of the sensor data would provide a better solution. Hell, have AI analyze the data, everyone else seems to be using it for stuff like this.

 

[Mr_Ed]

That's not another standpoint. That's a hyperbolic, sensationalized view. Of course emergency services complain about every time they have a false alert. But that's what they're for. There are no reports anywhere of this feature causing strain leading to poor service, and no proof of that ever happening. Just hypothetical scenarios leading to misplaced whining. People should be bending over backwards for Apple for creating such an incredible life saving feature. Instead people whine that is not perfect...mostly people who are not first responders with no skin in the game. Pathetic.

This feature isn’t yet available outside the iPhone 14 and a couple of watch models, yet it’s already causing enough problems for some responder agencies that Apple sent people out there.

By your logic, the fact that a death can’t yet be attributed to misallocated resources due to false positives from a feature that’s not widely available means there’s no problem? Now THAT is pathetic.

And no, fielding false alarms is not what emergency services are for.

 

[crsh1976]

This feature gets a lot of hate on here sometimes.

Personally, I had a bike accident about a year ago and broke some bones. As I was gathering myself, the siren started to go off and I was able to cancel it. Luckily, I didn't need it to call 911, but I was very thankful for it going off. I guess that is why I'd rather it be a little too sensitive instead of not sensitive enough. This is one of those things that will never be perfect and that is okay.

Not saying this to make you feel bad, the issue with this sort of half-baked crash detection going off in non-serious/intentional situations creates false-positives that require first responders' attention.

Your case illustrates exactly the issue for first responders: your situation was a non-urgent/mild case where some help was nice to have, but crash detection called in and had you slottted in as a high priority anyway. This may have happened at a moment where more serious cases would have needed to be prioritized over yours.

In other words, crash detection that automatically calls emergency services only help everybody when they work as intended, which is not the case right now.

 

[LooseyGoosey]

This feature can be turned off temporarily by the user. Settings : Emergency SOS : Call After Severe Crash : Off

If you are going to hit the slopes or any other high activity outing, turn this off before heading out. Of course, users would have to remember to turn in back on when they are done. It would be nice to have a notification telling the user to turn this back on.

Being a new feature, I think it will get tuned over time. Messing up 911 systems with a bunch of false calls is not the best start, though.

 

[ninecows]

It may need to be a combined solution:
• Create a Sport mode (selected either manually or automatically using geofencing) so the crash algorithm would better understand the possibilities of an accident.
• Use geofencing to better "Guess" the different dangers: (Crash, fall, avalanche, etc.)

• This would be similar to what fall detection needs to understand: the difference between a real fall, quickly laying down on the floor, or jumping from a chair or ladder.​

• In case a crash/fall is detected, the geofencing information will assist Emergency services to better understand the situation.
• If a crash/fall is suspected but the user keeps moving, then it may have not been a crash, but just a sudden movement of the skier, cancelling the emergency call.

I'm sure there are some gaps in the idea, but it's a starting point.

All the geofencing and sport mode is too complicated. And a hell to maintain for Apple and the users to remember to turn on/off. Plus if you actually do have an accident during skiing then what?

The last suggestion about users keep moving is great. And it should be very simple to implement. I suggested that already when the first reports about false positives came in.

 

[MrTemple]

This is one view.

Let me give you another standpoint - emergency services have limited capacity and because of these false calls reaction to actual emergency can be delayed and someone may die consequently.

The baby-step version 1.0 of this feature has already saved several lives and provided emergency services sooner than without.

And there hasn't been one single case where your potential situation has materially affected emergency services.

But we should disable the feature? Even though it's ALREADY a net-positive to emergency services? And your reason for this is because maybe one day there will be a single case that will offset ONE of the many cases where it helps?

This is just terrible logic.

Not to mention that this feature is only going to get better and better.

But that can't happen if you 'delay until it's ready' or other nonsense being spouted about this particular feature. When it's significantly net-positive, then it's already ready for wider implementation.

Because tuning them in the real world is literally the only way to make the final improvements to these sorts of neural net features (beyond the initial in-house work Apple has already done which has made it provide more positively impactful true-positives than negatively-impactful false-negatives).

 

[Amazing Iceman]

All the geofencing and sport mode is too complicated. And a hell to maintain for Apple and the users to remember to turn on/off. Plus if you actually do have an accident during skiing then what?

The last suggestion about users keep moving is great. And it should be very simple to implement. I suggested that already when the first reports about false positives came in.

I don't think geofencing would be hard to implement.
It will use a database containing the coordinates and limits of skiing resorts and locations.
Also, there shouldn't be any highways or high transit roads near skiing zones, that helps in determining the nature of the alert. And analyzing background audio would be of a lot of help too (engine sound, loud crash, etc.).

 

[ninecows]

I don't think geofencing would be hard to implement.
It will use a database containing the coordinates and limits of skiing resorts and locations.
Also, there shouldn't be any highways or high transit roads near skiing zones, that helps in determining the nature of the alert. And analyzing background audio would be of a lot of help too (engine sound, loud crash, etc.).

It’s just an extremely over engineered solution

 

[Amazing Iceman]

The baby-step version 1.0 of this feature has already saved several lives and provided emergency services sooner than without.

And there hasn't been one single case where your potential situation has materially affected emergency services.

But we should disable the feature? Even though it's ALREADY a net-positive to emergency services? And your reason for this is because maybe one day there will be a single case that will offset ONE of the many cases where it helps?

This is just terrible logic.

Not to mention that this feature is only going to get better and better.

But that can't happen if you 'delay until it's ready' or other nonsense being spouted about this particular feature. When it's significantly net-positive, then it's already ready for wider implementation.

Because tuning them in the real world is literally the only way to make the final improvements to these sorts of neural net features (beyond the initial in-house work Apple has already done which has made it provide more positively impactful true-positives than negatively-impactful false-negatives).

Yeah, probably in a town with only 3 ambulances...
House alarms cause false alerts too, but doesn't cause major nuisance to emergency services (but they may fine the owner after repeated calls).

 

[3530025]

And there hasn't been one single case where your potential situation has materially affected emergency services.

But we should disable the feature? Even though it's ALREADY a net-positive to emergency services?

Your claims are false and nonsense if there are not valid data backing your claims.

And you did not present any actual data backing your claim that false automatic iPhone emergency calls do not affect emergency services negatively. These data are not available to public, so you can’t actually know whether some call got delayed due to one of these false emergency calls, so please stop spreading this misinformation.

Also there is not any actual case where you could easily prove that automatic emergency call saved life and that without such feature the outcome would be different.

There’s reason why this actual feature is and will be banned in the EU. False emergency calls and misusing of emergency service is punished by fine in the Europe.

 

[LogicalApex]

Brilliant. Instead of fixing the issue, they just hand ball the issue onto other (more important and resource intensive) services. Fantastic work, Tim. You're doing a stellar job with your brand (and emergency service's time).

Just standard 911 expectations. The same is true if you accidentally dial 911. You should wait for them to answer then explain it was an accidental call. Otherwise, they will assume you're in need of help and the phone died or someone attacking you forced you to hang it up. So they'll respond accordingly. That's a bigger waste of resources than a few seconds on the phone letting them know.

 

[Vref]

It’s literally part of dispatches job description

If someone says it’s destroying 911 they are BSing you and ether want more money or less work

Ofcourse if your phone/watch accidentally dials 911 being a properly raised adult you’d let them know you’re ok and it was a false alarm

 

[LogicalApex]

Your claims are false and nonsense if there are not valid data backing your claims.

And you did not present any actual data backing your claim that false automatic iPhone emergency calls do not affect emergency services negatively. These data are not available to public, so you can’t actually know whether some call got delayed due to one of these false emergency calls, so please stop spreading this misinformation.

Also there is not any actual case where you could easily prove that automatic emergency call saved life and that without such feature the outcome would be different.

There’s reason why this actual feature is and will be banned in the EU. False emergency calls and misusing of emergency service is punished by fine in the Europe.

False use of emergency services is also punishable in the US.

There is never going to be a 100% perfect solution here. Apple has to take a lot of data and then infer an emergency situation as a result. Some of those situations will be false alarms, like all situations, and can be a challenge to sort out. My car has an automatic dial in case of a crash feature and they "solved" this problem by sticking a call center in the middle who the car will call first so they can ask you if it was a mistake. That would be the best Apple could do.

The best analogy I can give you is seat belts. They save more lives when you wear them, but wearing a seat belt isn't guaranteed to save you and in certain accidents can actually lead to your death. I still would recommend you wear your seat belt while in a car though as the edge cases are far less likely to occur. As a result, you're more likely overall to die in a crash where you aren't wearing it and should be your focus... Not the performance in a single accident scenario.

Apple should continually improve the algorithm and ways they can help minimize the false positives though!

 

[3530025]

My car has an automatic dial in case of a crash feature and they "solved" this problem by sticking a call center in the middle who the car will call first so they can ask you if it was a mistake. That would be the best Apple could do.

I totally agree with this one. Also car has much precise and simpler detection. It is much easier to detect actual crash in the car. There are almost zero false positives when it comes to airbags. Surely your car can call emergency even when you are okay, but it will not call without crash just driving on the road fast i.e. And even with much smaller false positives it got call center in the middle. How Apple got away with directly calling 911 in the USA is beyond me.

The best analogy I can give you is seat belts. They save more lives when you wear them, but wearing a seat belt isn't guaranteed to save you and in certain accidents can actually lead to your death.

That’s not the best analogy though. Seat belts can’t harm others whether you wear them or not - it will affect only you and maybe your passengers. It will not affect other cars or drivers. Same can’t be surely said about this feature. I agree it’s probably not common, but you may overhaul local emergency line and redirect or delay actual emergency and cause real delay in some actual emergency case caused by this false positive iPhone automatically did.

Of course there will always be some false positive calls here and there - but false positive automatic calls caused by the largest smartphone manufacturer just by going to ski or being on the rollercoaster is a bit too much.

 

[Vref]

False use of emergency services is also punishable in the US.

There is never going to be a 100% perfect solution here. Apple has to take a lot of data and then infer an emergency situation as a result. Some of those situations will be false alarms, like all situations, and can be a challenge to sort out. My car has an automatic dial in case of a crash feature and they "solved" this problem by sticking a call center in the middle who the car will call first so they can ask you if it was a mistake. That would be the best Apple could do.

The best analogy I can give you is seat belts. They save more lives when you wear them, but wearing a seat belt isn't guaranteed to save you and in certain accidents can actually lead to your death. I still would recommend you wear your seat belt while in a car though as the edge cases are far less likely to occur. As a result, you're more likely overall to die in a crash where you aren't wearing it and should be your focus... Not the performance in a single accident scenario.

Apple should continually improve the algorithm and ways they can help minimize the false positives though!

Accidentally dialing 911 IS NOT A CRIME, please please don’t scare people into turning of safety features

The only way dialing 911 is going to get you into trouble is if you KNOWINGLY give them false information, which is completely different then your phone thinking you took a tumble

 

[bice]

Isn't this feature basically a robocall-feature?
I'm thinking there needs to be some lagislation for this. If these calls were identifyable as non-human calls, responders could handle them differently.