Motoring experts at Scrap Car Comparison are warning drivers that having a key phone feature disabled this winter could be highly detrimental to themselves and anyone in the car with them…
They tell us:
With the clocks jumping back by an hour, lower visibility teamed with severe winter weather makes for difficult driving conditions, increasing the likelihood for a collision or road traffic incident.
When traffic collisions happen, a quick response time is key to getting drivers, passengers and other road users the help they need should the unthinkable happen. But many drivers could be putting themselves at risk of not being able to reach the emergency services when they need them most, by having a key phone feature disabled.
A common feature on both Apple devices and Google Pixel phones, ‘Crash Detection’ (if enabled) can detect if you’ve been in a severe car crash allowing your phone to immediately alert the emergency services to your location and get you help.
As not having the key safety feature could be detrimental to road users, the motoring experts at Scrap Car Comparison have provided their advice to highlight how enabling this phone setting could save your life when driving in dark and severe weather conditions this winter.
What is ‘crash detection’ and how does it work?
Crash detection is a setting on your phone (or smart watch) that can detect whether you have been in a severe road traffic collision. It is set up to detect severe impact from multiple directions and between other vehicles. If the setting detects you have been in an accident, it sends an immediate alert to emergency services to be dispatched, as well as sharing your location.
For Apple devices, this leads to an alarm being sounded and a message appearing on your phone indicating that it believes you have been in an accident. At this point, you can opt to let it call emergency services or dismiss the alert.
If you’re too injured to respond, this setting allows the device to call the emergency services automatically after a 20-second delay, allowing you to get the help you and others may need. An added step is that if you have medical ID set up on your Apple device, emergency services will be able to read the medical information you have provided.
For Google Pixel users, the technology works in a similar way, using your phone’s location, motion sensors and nearby sounds to decipher if you have been in a crash. The Google Pixel setting uses Android’s Emergency Location Service, sending information to the local region’s emergency service about what has happened.
As with the setting on an Apple device, you are given the same choice between calling the emergency services or cancelling the call, but your device will automatically alert medical responders if you don’t respond within 60 seconds.
While in the past this feature was exclusive to iOS and Google Pixel, it has since been extended to certain Android models, including some Samsung phones.
Can crash detection be triggered by error?
If you regularly participate in extreme or action-based sports, such as skiing, skateboarding or snowboarding, there is a small chance of triggering crash detection on your phone by mistake. The crash detection technology uses a device’s built-in sensors to detect impact, so if you fall over during a high-speed activity, it could result in your crash detection being triggered and making an accidental or false emergency call if left unnoticed.
It’s recommended that if engaging in these activities, people turn off their crash detection settings prior to starting, and re-enabling the setting once finished.
If in the event of an accidental alert, where you haven’t been able to cancel it in time, it’s important that you do not hang up the phone. You should alert the operator that the alert was set off by mistake and that you do not need assistance.
How to enable crash detection on your phone
If using an iPhone:
· Navigate to the ‘Settings’ app and tap ‘Emergency SOS’
· From here, you can scroll to click ‘Call after severe crash’
If using an Apple Watch:
· Navigate to the ‘Apple Watch’ app and tap ‘Emergency SOS’
· From here, you can scroll to click ‘Call after severe crash’
If using a Google Pixel phone:
· Navigate to the ‘Safety’ app and tap the ‘Settings’ cog icon in the top left-hand corner
· From here, you can scroll to click ‘Car crash detection’
· Once on this view, you can enable the ‘Car crash detection’ setting
· When you are prompted to set location permission, click ‘Allow while app in use’
· You can also click ‘Allow for microphone and physical activity prompts’
David Kottuan, Operations Manager at Scrap Car Comparison adds: “As we approach winter, driving conditions can become a little tricky with black ice, fog and getting dark early adding extra challenges to otherwise straightforward journeys.”
While it might sound extreme, enabling crash detection could be the difference between a favourable or unfavourable outcome, and can enable you to get the help you need in the event of a collision.
Even with this setting enabled however, care should be taken when driving in wintry conditions. The added darkness can make driving trickier, but add in ice, snow or rain and it can be even more perilous. Ensure you’re factoring in extra ‘thinking distance’ with your ‘stopping distance’ as icy or wet roads can result in skidding.
It’s also important to remember to never adjust the settings on your phone whilst in the car. Ensure you set up the alert prior getting into your vehicle and starting a journey in order to avoid getting distracted behind the wheel.
For more information on how to drive safely on the roads in winter, please visit: https://www.