Here’s Why You Might Want To Turn Your Phone Off At Great Adventure
New iPhone update is causing headaches for first responders? Yes, it’s true…
The newest iPhone has a cool feature called “Crash Detection” that can tell if you’re in an accident and automatically call 911. This is first I’m hearing of it, but it’s pretty cool to think that my phone is looking out for me in the case of an accident.
But there’s a minor glitch: Turns out it’s been calling 911 for people on ROLLER COASTERS.
It uses something called a “high G-force accelerometer” to detect four types of crashes: Front, side, and rear-end collisions, and also rollover crashes.
It’s not clear which one roller coasters are triggering, maybe all four. But you could definitely see how a loop or corkscrew might look like a rollover crash.
It’s happened at multiple parks, including Six Flags Great America near Chicago. And it’s happened at least six times at Kings Island near Cincinnati since the iPhone 14 went on sale less than a month ago. I’ve heard rumors that it’s happened at Six Flags Great Adventure out of Jackson, New Jersey, but not confirmed them yet.
Here’s the thing though: You’ve only got 20 seconds to cancel the call once it detects a crash. And obviously you’re not checking your phone on a roller coaster, or might not hear the alarm go off. So yes, first responders HAVE responded to some of the calls.
It’s not clear if Apple plans to do something about it, but luckily there’s a way to avoid it. If you have the new iPhone and you’re in line for a roller coaster and about to get on, put it in airplane mode. I suppose that would mean for those few seconds you won’t be able to go live on Instagram… but at least you won’t be triggering a 911 call by mistake and wasting the time of our first responders.
GALLERY: Asbury Park Zombie Walk
