Diane fell going down our basement stairs about an hour ago. She fortunately didn't get badly hurt. When she fell her phone detected it and automatically called 911. About 20 minutes later, she was outside getting dog food from our front barn when a sheriff's deputy pulled up. Apparently if you have an iPhone, or some other makes, they automatically notify emergency services if you have a bad fall or a car accident and dispatch an officer to check on you, if you don't answer the call they give you. Diane didn't answer the call because she didn't recognize the number.

I had never heard of this before.

Keith

I know iPhone in the last few generations has been kind of advertising that as a safety feature. People with “smart” watches have the same features

That could be positive or negative.

I wrecked my truck yesterday. Went off the road and over corrected on my way home. Right at the farm by dad's house. Stopped 4' before In hit the guide wire for telephone pole. Had to get dad to pull me back out on the road. My phone did not report it for me. Its an old android.

I saw Inwas drifting to the side of the rode thought/ knew I needed to correct it. But either my arms did respond or my brain didn't send any single until after the bumps from going off the road . Was it impairment from several 16 hr days and lack of sleep MS or combo who knows. But it was only 60 hrs in 4 days not my normal 80 to 96 since I have been cutting back.

Trying to get to sleep but right leg tingling/ electric feelings hot and cold and cramps are keeping me awake and spasms have woke .my wife up 2x so far. I want her to get good sleep on her birthday. May sneak to the couch This is getting old fast and probably only going to get worse.
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I flipped my kayak while fishing a couple years ago. I had my iPhone in a ziplock bag in a pocket in my life vest. After gathering al my gear and back to fishing, my phone rang. It’s was the local 911 dispatch wanting to know if everything was good. Also notified my wife. The worst part was the other fishermen watching me cuss up a storm.

I hope my phone does that, and hopefully detects if I'm in a car accident as well. I ain't as young and bulletproof as I used to be.

That is interesting. A long time ago I had an i phone 1 or 2,? My daughter threw her rod in being tired after fishing all day. I not thinking jumped out of the boat to get it befor it sunk , not thinking about it being early sprung 59° but water temp in the 40s. I had my rod in my habmnd bu shock of cold water I let it go it sunk and I had my phone in my pocket an 16" rubber boots filled with water fast. But I saved her $15 rod . Lost my phone me and nice rode in the process

My I phone after that fell i stories at work and didn't survive.

Maybe its a new feature or dose it not work when yiu kill the phone.

Had a friend in his early 29s had a wreck when in a running fight at a party when drunk. His on star detected the ceadmsh and called the coos creating more legal issues for him. So could be a life saving feature or negative depending.

For the love of God, proof read...

Can't say I had heard of that either. Not sure I want an on phone 'On-Star'.
If this was really of any valuable service, got to question the response time (as a retired first responder) ?????

You can turn that feature off.

Didn't know the phone could do that, no reason not I guess, smart watches have that feature...My wife is a fall risk and she has the watch...

How does the phone know if you fell.. or did the phone fall out your your pocket while up in your tree stand ?

Or that you didn't just drop it. I drop mine frequently some times its from 8' if it falls to the ground from the equipment im driving at work geting in an out of it.

Yea not sure how the stupid technology works. If you push the right buttons accidentally it will also make that call. A couple of Summers ago my wife was mowing on the zero turn mower. First my step daughter calls, "Is mom alright?" I said yep. Shortly thereafter a deputy sheriff pulls up the drive. He said he was responding to an emergency notification from a phone. He asked if my wife was ok? I said I am pretty sure ..... she is right over there riding on that mower. LOL He said no worries it happens a lot and he got in his car and left. At the time I was thinking not only is that a pain in the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) feature, but that it was a weak response for the deputy to only take my word for something that called him to my property to turn around and leave without verifying what I was saying was true. Same thing though, my wife had gotten a couple of calls from a number she didn't recognize (sherriffs office) and just ignored them.

Mine must not have it. Cops would be tracking me down most Friday nights if it did. lol

I was going to ask if it would know if I fell or just threw it against the wall.

Apparently, "Modern smartphones (and smartwatches like Apple Watch) detect falls or car accidents (crash detection) using a combination of built-in sensors, sophisticated algorithms, and sometimes machine learning. The core idea is to look for sudden, abnormal changes in motion, speed, orientation, or other environmental signals that don't match everyday activities.
Key Sensors Involved
Almost all implementations rely on these hardware components found in recent iPhones, Pixels, Samsung phones, and wearables:

Accelerometer — Measures acceleration (changes in speed and direction) in 3 axes (x, y, z). It detects sudden impacts, high g-forces (e.g., > several g's in a crash), or the rapid downward motion + sudden stop of a fall.
Gyroscope — Tracks rotation and orientation changes. Helps distinguish a tumble/roll (typical in falls) from linear motion, or confirms the chaotic rotation in a crash.
GPS — Provides speed, direction, and location data. Critical for car crashes to confirm high vehicle speeds (often >25 mph) before a sudden stop.
Microphone — Listens for loud, characteristic sounds (e.g., screeching tires, impact noise, glass breaking) typical of severe crashes.
Barometer (on some devices) — Detects rapid pressure changes (e.g., from airbags deploying or altitude shifts in a severe wreck).
Other helpers: Sometimes magnetometer/compass, Bluetooth (to detect if connected to a car via CarPlay/Android Auto), or even heart rate data on watches.

The phone doesn't just look at one sensor — it uses sensor fusion (combining data from multiple sensors in real time) to build a more reliable picture and reduce false positives.
How Fall Detection Works (e.g., on Apple Watch, some Android phones/apps)
This is mainly for personal falls (not vehicle-related).

The accelerometer detects a sudden spike in downward acceleration (free-fall phase), often followed by a hard impact.
The gyroscope senses wrist/arm rotation or tumbling.
Algorithms (often machine-learned patterns) compare this to known "fall signatures" — a hard fall typically shows:
Rapid velocity increase downward.
Sudden stop/impact.
Change in orientation (e.g., horizontal after being vertical).

If it matches, the device alerts you (tap + alarm). If you're immobile for ~1 minute afterward (no movement detected), it starts a countdown and can auto-call emergency services + share location.

It's tuned to avoid false alarms from sitting down hard, jogging, or dropping the device.
How Car Crash / Accident Detection Works (e.g., iPhone Crash Detection, Google Pixel Car Crash Detection)
This is for severe vehicle collisions and is available on iPhone 14+, many recent Android flagships (especially Pixels), and some wearables.

The phone first infers you're in a vehicle — using GPS for consistent high speed, motion patterns that match driving, or CarPlay connection.
During a potential crash, it looks for:
Sudden, extreme deceleration/acceleration (high g-forces from impact).
Abrupt speed drop to near-zero after high speed.
Chaotic motion/rotation (spinning, flipping).
Loud noises via mic (crash sounds).
Sometimes cabin pressure changes.

Advanced algorithms (often AI/machine learning trained on real + simulated crash data) analyze the combined sensor stream to classify it as a "severe crash" vs. pothole, hard braking, roller coaster, etc.
If confident it's a severe crash and you're unresponsive (no interaction after alert), the phone auto-dials emergency services, shares your location, plays an automated message, and can notify emergency contacts.

Apple and Google both emphasize on-device processing for privacy — data isn't sent unless a real emergency is declared.
These features aren't perfect (false positives happen on roller coasters, mountain biking, or even aggressive dancing), but they're life-saving in real accidents by getting help faster when the user can't call themselves.
Different brands tweak the algorithms slightly, but the physics/sensor foundation is very similar across iOS and Android."

Keith

Well, Keith, in all that info, I suppose a dive off a horse at speed is not included in that programming . That's ok, it's been years since I've done that and I don't plan on it any time soon.

Maybe my programmed Irishman Siri might ask me if he can do anything for me.

Thank you for your info. I think that can be helpful in those circumstances described.

You can shut it off in settings. Any new phone should ask you if you want it on when you’re setting it up.

Here, they have 2 911 #'s. first call will get you the 911 Triage, they decide if it's a true emergency, then you call again for help. They will also let you know if all your info comes up on the screen and if it's corrrect.