Tag: 911
Apple Collecting Feedback From Dispatchers Receiving False 911 Calls From Skiers
A report today from the New York Post notes that New York’s Greene County and Pennsylvania’s Carbon County have experienced a burdensome increase in false 911 calls from local ski resorts due to Crash Detection. The feature allows the latest iPhone and Apple Watch models to detect a severe car crash and automatically call emergency services if the user is unresponsive, but it is also activating when some skiers and snowboarders take a tumble.
Given that emergency dispatchers respond to all calls out of an abundance of caution, the influx in false alarms has put a strain on some call centers and could divert personnel and resources away from real emergencies. There have been several reports about the issue in other popular ski resort areas like Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, and British Columbia, Canada since Apple introduced the feature last year.
In response to the report, an Apple spokesperson told the Post that the company was collecting feedback from emergency call centers that have experienced an increase in automated 911 calls due to the feature, but declined to comment further.
Crash Detection is enabled by default on all iPhone 14 models and the latest Apple Watch models, including the Series 8, Ultra, and second-generation SE. When a crash is detected, the iPhone or Apple Watch displays an alert, which users have 10 seconds to act on. If the user is unresponsive, the device begins another 10-second countdown while sounding an alarm and vibrating/tapping, and then calls emergency services. Due to loud surroundings and thick outerwear, however, some users may be unaware that the feature was triggered.
Apple says the feature relies on sensors like the accelerometer and gyroscope in the iPhone and Apple Watch, along with “advanced Apple-designed motion algorithms trained with over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data” for increased accuracy. As with rollercoasters, the iPhone and Apple Watch may be mistaking the abrupt movement of skiing and snowboarding as a car crash in some situations.
Apple released iOS 16.1.2 in late November with unspecified Crash Detection optimizations for iPhone 14 models, followed by watchOS 9.2 in mid-December with Apple Watch optimizations. It’s unclear if these optimizations have led to a reduction in false 911 calls from skiers and snowboarders; in any case, it will likely take some time before all users update their iPhone or Apple Watch to the latest software versions.
Despite this issue, there have already been several reports about the life-saving feature alerting first responders to actual car crashes.
This article, “Apple Collecting Feedback From Dispatchers Receiving False 911 Calls From Skiers” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection Still Triggering False 911 Calls, Forcing Dispatchers to Reallocate Resources Away From Real Emergencies
The iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection feature uses an array of sensors on the device to call emergency services if it thinks a user has been involved in a car crash. Since the feature launched with the new iPhones and Apple Watch models in September, 911 and emergency dispatchers across the United States have noted an influx of calls from iPhone 14 devices that accidentally triggered Car Crash Detection, even though no car crash has occurred.
Amid reports of false calls, Apple released iOS 16.1.2 in November, which it said made “Crash Detection optimizations,” without specifying what the changes were any further. Despite the update’s optimizations, the issue continues to be a problem faced by law enforcement. As reported this week by local news outlet The Colorado Sun, 911 dispatch centers in counties across the state have been witnessing an increase in 911 calls from skiers after their iPhone 14 and newer Apple Watch models misinterpreted ski falls as car crashes.
Last weekend the dispatchers at the Summit County 911 Center fielded 71 automated crash notifications from skiers’ iPhones and Apple watches at the county’s four ski areas. None of them involved an emergency.
Dispatch operators in Grand, Eagle, Pitkin, Routt and Summit counties — home to 12 very busy ski hills — are fielding record numbers of the automated calls from skiers’ Apple phones and watches, tying up emergency response resources. When a 911 call comes in, each call is handled in the order it arrives, so an automated call from a skier’s phone could delay response to a 911 caller with a real emergency.
911 dispatchers are not trained to ignore a call, meaning even accidental calls caused by the iPhone 14’s feature have to be dealt with and resources allocated towards, said Trina Dummer, the interim director of the 911 center in Summit County. “These calls involve a tremendous amount of resources, from dispatchers to deputies to ski patrollers. And I don’t think we’ve ever had an actual emergency event,” Dummer continued.
The accidental calls are putting a strain on emergency centers which have to reallocate resources away from genuine emergencies, especially since 911 calls are taken in order and after each other. “We are absolutely diverting essential resources away from people who need it toward a feature on a phone,” Dummer noted. In Pitkin County, the 911 center is receiving up to 20 of these accidental calls caused by the iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection feature a day, according to the county’s director.
The Pitkin County 911 Center gets about 15 to 20 of these automated calls a day from the county’s four ski areas. Dispatchers try to return every call, but oftentimes a call to a skier with their phone deep in their pockets goes unanswered, said Brett Loeb, the director of the Pitkin County 911 Center.
Loeb usually has one or two operators taking 911 calls and existing emergency calls can be put on hold to field incoming calls from iPhones. While his team has helped fallen hikers and residents whose watches have notified emergency services when they have fallen and need help, so far there have not been any real emergencies from the automated calls coming from the ski slopes.
In one instance at the Vail Police Department in Vail, Colorado, the iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection successfully called 911 for a real car crash, noted Marc Wentworth, the director of the Vail Public Safety Communications Center, highlighting the feature does have potential to save lives.
In Summit County, the iOS 16.1.2 update did little, if nothing, to address the issue, according to the county’s director. “But we have not seen our numbers change. We are seeing as many as 20 a day, and it’s a tremendous drain on our resources,” said County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons.
FitzSimons notes he has shared his concerns with Apple with reported responses that the company is aware of the issue, still though, FitzSimons says more is needed. We are communicating with Apple to get them to pay more attention to this, but it feels like we are trying to turn a battleship in a bathtub.”
Car Crash Detection is available on all iPhone 14 models and the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra, and second-generation Apple Watch SE.
This article, “iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection Still Triggering False 911 Calls, Forcing Dispatchers to Reallocate Resources Away From Real Emergencies” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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This Portal-Axle Porsche 911 Is Basically a Moon Buggy – CNET
Porsche’s Wild Portal-Axle 911 Gets Really, Really High – CNET
I’ve driven the new Porsche 911 GT3 – it’s mind-bendingly quick and the ultimate driving machine
IF money was no object, Porsche would win just about every car Oscar going.
Mid-size SUV? Macan. If you’ve got the money.
Big-size SUV? Cayenne. If you’ve got the money.
Electric car? Taycan. If you’ve got the money.
Sports car? 911, obviously.
The Germans are so consistently good at every-thing they do they are in competition with themselves and only themselves.
It’s a bit like Lionel Messi playing in a dads’ five-a-side school charity match.
The latest corker is the mind-bending 911 GT3 RS.
Many “Track God” or “King of the ’Ring” awards pending from the glossy car mags, I’m sure.
If not, they haven’t driven it properly.
Most read in Motors
Take a moment to look at the pictures because they pretty much tell you all you need to know.
This car is all about downforce and the near-supernatural cornering speeds that go with it.
It reminded me of the McLaren Senna, just £600k cheaper.
There are vents, nostrils, cutaways and blades galore, crowned by an F1-style DRS (Drag Reduction System) on the towering swan-neck rear wing.
Absolutely every inch of this car is special but let me give you a little example.
See those roof blades?
They steer hot air from the radiator away from the engine intake that sits just below the rear screen.
Why? Because naturally aspirated engines like cold, dense, oxygen-rich air. If the induction air temperature is, say, 40 degrees rather than 20 degrees, you’d lose around 18hp.
It’s all in the details.
‘IT’S LIKE STEERING IS WIRED TO YOUR BRAIN’
Those vents around the wheels look wicked but extract air from the arches to reduce lift.
Aside from the absolute masterclass in aerodynamics, Porsche has injected further excellence into the road-legal GT3 RS by enabling the driver to change much of the chassis set-up from the cockpit.
And I don’t mean Normal, Sport and Track mode. Or traction control.
Or the rear differential lock.
All sorts of suspension settings can be adjusted via the steering wheel on the fly — rather than requiring axle stands and a spanner, getting your chinos dirty.
Other things to note.
Bigger brakes, wider track, wider tyres, stiffer springs all round, lightweight body panels, shorter final drive ratio. It all adds up.
Power from that glorious 4-litre flat six is hiked 5hp to 525hp.
Hardly worth mentioning. But it revs to 9,000rpm and sounds terrific. Definitely worth mentioning.
We tried it on the full GP circuit at Silverstone, in the wet.
The raw power and scalpel-sharp handling are a given but the way it killed speed at the end of Hangar Straight was unreal.
I braked as late as I dared but it was still 50 metres too early.
It just hunkered down with minimum fuss. That active rear wing also acts as an air brake.
The steering reacts instantly to every input, like it is wired to your brain.
Ex-F1 and Le Mans driver Mark Webber jumped in after me and he said: “This thing is quicker than a 911 Cup race car on slicks.”
I believe him. It’s beyond brilliant.
As for the cabin, it’s a typical 911 but with carbon bucket seats and a flawless seven-speed PDK gearbox.
The Clubsport package is a no-cost option and adds steel rollover bar, hand-held fire extinguisher and six-point harness for the driver.
Actually, that stripped-out rear means the GT3 RS could be a contender for another award.
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Van of the Year?
It’s got room for tools in the back.
KEY FACTS: PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS
Price: £178,500
Engine: 4-litre naturally aspirated flat six
Power: 525hp
0-62mph: 3.2 secs
Top speed: 184mph
Economy: 21mpg
CO2: 305g/km
Raleigh shooting: Distressed 911 callers describe chilling scenes after 5 gunned down
iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection Feature is Calling 911 About Roller Coaster Rides
This was quite the read over the weekend: the Wall Street Journal reported that the car crash detection feature built into the new iPhone 14/14 Pro and Apple Watches is sensitive enough to be set off by a roller coaster.
The iPhone 14’s ‘Crash Detection’ Keeps Calling 911 on Rollercoasters
“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….
If the sensors detect that you’ve been in an accident, your iPhone will display an alert and call emergency services if you don’t dismiss it within 20 seconds. When it calls law enforcement, it will play an audio message that alerts authorities you’ve been in a crash, and also provides them with your location….
[WSJ reporter Joanna Stern] says Warren County, where Kings Island is located, received six emergency calls triggered by park rides since the iPhone 14’s release. She also points out that other users have experienced similar issues in amusement parks across the country.
“My time on the crash-detection beat has proven that the feature can absolutely save a life,” Stern acknowledged on Twitter. “There’s already proof of it helping in real crashes. But there are situations where it works and it shouldn’t and others where it doesn’t work and it should.
“Such is the story of technology!”
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the story.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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.
Apple rolled out Crash Detection with its new iPhone 14, Watch Series 8, SE, and Ultra last month, equipping the devices with a gyroscopic sensor and high-g accelerometer trained on the impact experienced with simulated car crashes. If the sensors detect that you’ve been in an accident, your iPhone will display an alert and call…