Law enforcement agencies in UP are encouraging motorists to use accident detection

IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WLUC) – Law enforcement agencies are urging people to use the accident detection feature on their phones.

Last month it saved a young man's life.

In Fence, Wisconsin, police and emergency medical services responded to a rollover accident thanks to a message from the driver's iPhone.

Florence County Sheriff Teresa Chrisman hopes more people take advantage of the technology.

“This technology actually exists and maybe some people didn't know the technology was on their iPhone,” Chrisman said. “But I truly believe that the accident detection feature on this young man’s iPhone helped save his life.”

Apple's crash detection feature notifies users when their iPhone experiences a sudden force.

If the user is unable to interact with the phone, Incident Detection automatically calls 911 using the phone's last used coordinates.

Crash detection was a factor in two serious crashes in Iron Mountain last year.

Dickinson County Sheriff Aaron Rochon says it makes the response easier.

“When I started this career, we were just sent into a general area and sometimes looked for a needle in a haystack,” Rochon said.

According to Sheriff Rochon, crash detection alerts sent to Dickinson County Dispatch are accurate more than half of the time.

He says people shouldn't worry if their phone sends a false alarm.

“Don’t be embarrassed, answer the call and let them know you just lost your phone,” Rochon said. “And then we can inform law enforcement or first responders accordingly.”

Crash detection is available on iPhones 14 and later, but other apps and services can also perform the same functions on Android or older iPhones.

Life 360 ​​​​is available for both Android and iPhone.

Some Android phones like the Google Pixel also have crash detection features.

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