Apple Watch Series 4 and later offer the “Fall Detection” feature which automatically detects when the user has taken a hard fall and calls emergency service and close contact. Like several times before, the fall detection feature once again saved an individual’s life in a fatal situation.
A 48 years old British cyclist, Jay Dixon was unfortunately hit by a car when he was turning down a side road in Cleethorpes, northeast England. The impact threw him off the bike and Dixon hit the ground. Luckily, Dixon was wearing his Apple Watch which had detected the fall, and had called emergency service and his partner.
Apple Watch gave the exact location of a man hit by a car to emergency service and his partner
Dixon later told the local news service, GrimsbyLive that he suffered a concussion and when the driver of the car came to see him, he was drifting in and out of consciousness. He said that he owed his life to his Apple Watch which had given his exact location to the emergency service and his partner.
“There was a moment when I was laid on the floor and I thought ‘do I wake up or lay here and give in’?” he continued. “I kept trying to get up, but I just couldn’t manage it, I was incredibly lucky. If I’d have collided with the car a few more inches to the right I think I would be dead.”
“When I fell, my watch sent out an emergency signal to the emergency services and my partner,” he said. “It had detected I’d taken a fall and sent my exact location to both parties. It tells you exactly what’s happened and my partner was there within 15 minutes.”
In the latest watchOS 8.1, Apple has introduced enhanced algorithms to detect falls during workouts and the option to enable fall detection during workouts only on Apple Watch Series 4 and later. It is also reported that the company will launch a new ‘crash detection’ feature on Apple Watch and iPhone to automatically dial 911 if the user is in a car accident by 2022. In addition, a patent granted to Apple described an improved fall detection feature that would send the victims’ vitals or health data to the emergency service on its way to them so they have more knowledge of the fallen users’ condition.
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