iPhone's Crash Detection continues to make erroneous calls

First responders based in ski resorts and other locations continue to experience problems with the Crash Detection feature on the iPhone 14 and newer Apple Watches. When an iPhone 14 or Apple Watch notices a sharp shock in motion that could indicate an accident, crash detection is activated. If the feature has been accidentally enabled or if the mishap isn't significant, the owner has 10 seconds to deactivate the alarm, stopping a call from being made. The issue is that mistaken activations are difficult to notice if the phone is in a pocket or bag, causing the emergency services to respond to non-incidents. Such activities are a huge waste of time and money and can take employees' attention away from actual emergencies that need an immediate reaction. Photo Credit: Intego Since it was implemented last fall, the feature has often raised false alerts in situations other than those for which it was actually intended. Recently, local emergency services in a resort area in Nagano, Japan, reported that between December 16 and January 23, they received 134 erroneous calls that were "mainly" brought on by the iPhone 14's Crash Detection system as their owners experienced the typical scrapes and bumps on ski runs. Between January 1 and January 23, another ski resort in the adjacent city of Gifu recorded 135 false alerts from iPhones. The US has received reports of similar events. 71 automated crash notifications from skiers' iPhones and Apple Watches were received by dispatchers at a Colorado 911 center over the course of a single weekend, but none of them entailed an emergency. Similar reports about events that involved snowmobiles were made earlier this month out of Minnesota. Reports of fake Crash Detection alerts occurring on roller coaster rides with unexpected stops surfaced last year, just after the iPhone 14 went on sale. The Crash Detection feature is "very accurate in detecting severe crashes," according to Apple's statement from a year ago, and it will continue to perform better over time. Of course, it can save lives when it functions properly. You can temporarily disable the feature by turning on Airplane Mode in Settings if you don't want to take the chance that your iPhone 14 places an unnecessary emergency call. Photo Credit: Support.com Select Settings > Emergency SOS > turn off call after severe crash to completely disable the crash detection feature. Follow the identical procedures on an Apple Watch by beginning in the My Watch tab.