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iPhone 14's Crash Detection Mistaking Roller Coaster Rides for Car Crashes
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You're in the middle of a 3+ minute rollercoaster ride, with a safety bar over you that makes it completely impossible to get into your pockets. 30 seconds into the ride, some normal part of the ride trips the "you've been in a crash" code, and starts the countdown before autodialing 911 (or local equivalent). If you even heard the announcement in the midst of the screaming and wind noise on the ride, you can't reach your pocket. If you could, somehow, get your phone out of your pocket, it would likely get ripped out of your hand seconds later as the rollercoaster goes around a sharp corner, or a loop, or some such.
On average, an individual doesn't go on rollercoasters all that often. But it turns out that Apple sells more than a handful of phones. More like a couple hundred million a year, give or take. In six months, this technology will be on a hundred million phones out there in the world. How often do you think 100 million people, collectively, go on rollercoasters? Probably something like the tens of thousands of times per day range. That's going to be a lot of false alarms.
The same who bring their iPads on roller coasters.
Like I said before, wait until they activate satellite messaging, Apple users will overwhelm it and it'll have to be disabled
Is it still worth it if lives are lost as a result of delayed response to ACTUAL emergencies?
People still do. There are tons of instagram & tiktok videos of people on rollercoasters taken with their smartphones.
Does Apple have an extremely accurate database of the precise GPS coordinates of all the boundary points encompassing every single theme park on the planet? Could you come up with one for them by the next software update? Probably not more than several tens of thousands rollercoasters out there to track.
Depends on the coaster. High-speed family rides like Hagrid's don't care despite launching you at 50MPH. Inverting coasters, that's a different story.
So people aren't allowed to have car crashes on the street just outside the theme park? GPS often isn't that accurate.
If it's in a pocket, it's not a loose article.
Do you routinely take your wallet and keys out of your pockets before getting on a rollercoaster? Where do you put them while you're riding?
So how are you going to talk condescendingly about smart devs not considering roller coaster edge cases while also not considering the more common accidents in underpopulated and rural areas like single-vehicle deer strikes or one/two-vehicle accidents caused by drunk drivers when other motorists are less likely to be around due to it being late at night. Drive on secondary roads away from cities and it is common to not see another vehicle for a while.
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Unless your pockets have zippers, your phone is considered a loose object.
Many, but not all, parks have lockers people can put their things in while they ride the coaster
The one thing that seems to be escaping those posting here is that there might not be an easily detectable statistical difference between the forces exerted by a car crash and the forces exerted by a roller coaster, particularly if the accelerometers on the iPhone are max'ed out. It makes you wonder how many G's roller coasters subject the punters to.
In any case, no doubt signs will go up in amusement parks to turn off crash detection on iPhone before going on their roller coaster rides. Indeed, it will be like the warnings about heart conditions and pregnancy on Space Mountain - it will be a selling point for those acceleration addicts who consider it badge of honour to go on a ride that could trigger crash detection.
In any case, no doubt signs will go up in amusement parks to turn off crash detection on iPhone before going on their roller coaster rides. Indeed, it will be like the warnings about heart conditions and pregnancy on Space Mountain - it will be a selling point for those acceleration addicts who consider it badge of honour to go on a ride that could trigger crash detection.
Well don’t end up on a new episode of 1000 ways to die, thinking you’re smarter because other people may end up standing around making TikTok’s of you dying instead more and more these days.
Boy these new iPhones are a real roller coaster of news reports, arent they?
What? 🤷♂️
What? 🤷♂️
Location based crash detection … software update coming soon
The iPhone 14's Crash Detection feature is accidentally being triggered and therefore calling emergency services when users are riding a roller coaster rather than being involved in a real automotive accident.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, several users of the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro at amusement parks across the United States have reported emergency services and contacts being alerted that they've been involved in a car crash as they've ridden roller coasters. The accidental trigger of Apple's latest safety features is likely caused by the sudden breaking and movement of roller coasters, triggering the iPhone's sensors to misinterpret the movement as a car crash.
The Wall Street Journal reports at least six incidents of emergency services being called for false alarms. In response to the false alarms, an Apple spokesperson said Apple tested the feature with over a million hours of car crash data and real-world driving analysis. Several tests have already been done to test the accuracy of the iPhone 14's Crash Detection, with varying results.
In response to a test done by The Wall Street Journal in a junkyard where the iPhone failed to notice some car crashes, Apple said the testing condition did not provide the iPhone with enough factors to trigger an alert. Apple said the iPhones were not connected to Bluetooth or CarPlay and may not have traveled enough distance before impact for the device to register the crash. Crash Detection is available on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, the Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra.
Article Link: iPhone 14's Crash Detection Mistaking Roller Coaster Rides for Car Crashes
Also, Google has had a similar crash detection feature on its phones for a few years and they don’t appear to experience the same amount of false positives as Apple’s.
The iPhone 14's Crash Detection feature is accidentally being triggered and therefore calling emergency services when users are riding a roller coaster rather than being involved in a real automotive accident.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, several users of the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro at amusement parks across the United States have reported emergency services and contacts being alerted that they've been involved in a car crash as they've ridden roller coasters. The accidental trigger of Apple's latest safety features is likely caused by the sudden breaking and movement of roller coasters, triggering the iPhone's sensors to misinterpret the movement as a car crash.
The Wall Street Journal reports at least six incidents of emergency services being called for false alarms. In response to the false alarms, an Apple spokesperson said Apple tested the feature with over a million hours of car crash data and real-world driving analysis. Several tests have already been done to test the accuracy of the iPhone 14's Crash Detection, with varying results.
In response to a test done by The Wall Street Journal in a junkyard where the iPhone failed to notice some car crashes, Apple said the testing condition did not provide the iPhone with enough factors to trigger an alert. Apple said the iPhones were not connected to Bluetooth or CarPlay and may not have traveled enough distance before impact for the device to register the crash. Crash Detection is available on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, the Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra.
Article Link: iPhone 14's Crash Detection Mistaking Roller Coaster Rides for Car Crashes
So if the only solution is to disable Crash Detection or not carry the iPhone while riding roller coasters then Apple has to tweak the algorithm or admit the hardware is faulty or too sensitive. Let’s hope it’s not any of the latter.
Um, why should Apple make that assumption? They will just tell people to disable crash detection when entering an amusement park.
States can enact laws permitting 2 false calls per month. Exceed the max number and it’s $1000 charge. Voluntary compliance will follow.