Bonnaroo event: Apple’s latest Crash Detection feature on iPhone 14 series as well as Apple Watch Ultra is a lifesaver. But it is creating increases in the number of false 911 calls. number in a false 911 call. At the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee last week the growth of 5 times in number of false 911 calls was recorded. a number of calls to 911 that were false were observed due to this Crash Detection feature.
The Bonnaroo festival took place in Manchester, Tennessee this year. It was estimated that 80k people attended the event. It’s no surprise that dealing with such a massive crowd takes the first responders at risk. But the Apple Crash Detection feature made things much more challenging this year.
Unintentionally Triggers Crash Detection
For those who aren’t familiar For those who haven’t heard of it, to the uninitiated, the Crash Detection feature works by notifying emergency responders when the device detects sudden movement in the gadget. The device uses a range of sensors, including an accelerometer, barometer, and gyroscope, to determine the crash and send an alarm call to the first responders after the detection of an accident.
According to a report by the local newspaper WKRN, The festival this year was awash with five times more fraudulent 911 calls than the average, according to the director of the Coffee County 911 Communication Center Scott LeDuc. Fortunately, the false calls didn’t cause any difficulties for emergency 911 responders in responding to real emergency calls.
“Our staff really showed up, because first responders usually do in the call of duty, which they certainly did. We didn’t face any instance where we weren’t able to assist people because of the volume of calls received,” LeDuc said. LeDuc.
The fake calls can be explained by the rapid movements of the owners as they danced during the music festival. Authorities also issued warnings to festival goers to disable their Crash Detection feature on their devices prior to participating in the festival in order to avoid fake 911 calls.
“It reduced the number of calls we were receiving. It may have cut it down 40 to 60 percent,” LeDuc said. LeDuc.
In addition, Apple has offered to visit Coffee County to help the officials. However, the majority of fake 911 messages were verified through the phone by the county’s officials.
To ensure the genuineness of calls Coffee County along with Bonnaroo called callers. They verified whether the call originated due to an untruly activated Crash Detection feature or if there was an actual emergency.
With the coming Ally 400 NASCAR race in the city that is adjacent to Nashville this week Coffee County collaborated together with Wilson County to ensure that any instances of false 911 calls are handled with care by first response personnel.
