iPhone 14 Glitch Could Call 9-1-1 At The Wrong Time

The new iPhone 14 has a highly desirable safety feature that's causing some interesting problems.The crash detection feature is a safety device that calls 9-1-1 whenever it detects a crash. The sensor detects the crash and then alerts authorities if the owner of the phone doesn't respond within 20 seconds.

There are numerous reports from around the country of how this feature has called for help when iPhone 14 and Apple Watch owners were in trouble. In fact, the feature alerted authorities last weekend when it detected the impact of a deadly car crash in a remote area near Lincoln, Nebraska that killed six  people.

Lately, however, authorities are reporting that the devices are calling for help when iPhone 14 and Apple Watch owners ride rollercoasters. There are numerous reports from Cincinnati of instances when rollercoaster riders at Kings Island amusement parks are on the rides.

So far, it has happened six times, since the smartphones went on sale in September. False  crash detection alerts have also gone out when owners dropped their phones while driving. Others say the smart devices have called 9-1-1 after commuters stopped driving. Apparently, they thought crash, when the vehicles stopped normally.

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As rough as some of the rural backroads are in West Texas, I wonder how often this crash detection feature will go off when drivers hit an unusually deep road rut. There are also other sudden repetitive movements some people engage in from time to time that one would definitely not want emergency services to know about.

In the meantime, if you are anticipating riding a rollercoaster or engaging in sudden high impact repetitive movement, you might want to put your iPhone 14 or Apple Watch in airplane mode. The last thing emergency officials need are numerous false alarms.