Considering all the edge cases? What does that mean? The iPhone 14 keeps calling 911 on rollercoasters
The iPhone 14’s new Crash Detection feature, which is supposed to alert authorities when it detects you’ve been in a car accident, has an unexpected side effect: it dials 911 on rollercoasters. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, 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.
This story references a WSJ article, that is, like all of the Wall Street Journal, behind a paywall. The author the the WSJ article posted a Tweet on Sunday:
Since the iPhone 14 went on sale, the 911 dispatch center near Kings Island amusement park has received at least six phones calls saying:
“The owner of this iPhone was in a severe car crash...”
Except, the owner was just on a roller coaster.
by me: https://t.co/hp1fHZBIf6 pic.twitter.com/i0lZPoWzGz
— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) October 9, 2022
I found this interesting because I don't live too far from Kings Island.
It isn't an incredible pain in the ass so far, but every-time they get a call, that is an expense. How soon before they start ignoring all calls from iPhones in Kings Island? As you can imagine, the traffic through there when the park is open can be an issue. Traffic is more of a problem in the spring when they first open, than in the dog days of August, though their Halloween haunted house will open soon, if it hasn't already, and then there may be some actual crashes due to the increase in traffic.
I understand the idea that went into this "feature" of the iPhone. Maybe they should have done a little more thinking about that idea. The iPhone 14 was introduced in September. What happens in 2 years when everyone's phone has this technology? Or even 25 percent of the people? Six 911 calls in a month is not overwhelming. 60 would be a problem. 600 would be a disaster in the making. If someone doesn't get help, either because paramedics are responding to false call at Kings Island, or ignoring a real call from the road in front of the amusement park, who is to blame? The person who bought the phone, or the people who designed it?
In many ways living in the future is cool, but a lot of the time the future is just stupid.
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