MOTORISTS are urged to make sure their iPhones have an important feature enabled – that could one day save their life.
This little known ability of Apple’s smartphones can make sure help arrives promptly if you end up in a car crash.
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Every parent’s worst nightmare is finding out their teenage kid has fallen asleep at the wheel.
This horror became a reality for one family when 16-year-old Lindsay Leskovac drifted off while driving home in Pennsylvania.
She suffered multiple fractures to both legs and her cervical spine and was knocked unconscious when she crashed.
However, one small but crucial feature on her iPhone allowed first reponders to get their promptly.
Once the phone detected that she had been in a crash, it automatically called 911.
Rescuers rushed to the scene to provide urgent medical attention – and potentially saving her life.
Lindsay’s mother, who had no idea about the crash detection feature beforehand, is now urging all motorists to make sure it’s switched on.
She said: “The person from Fire and Rescue told me that 911 said the phone had initiated the call.
“So I looked further into it to find out exactly who made the call and how it happened.
“I discovered that iPhones, if you have a 14 or newer, and she has the iPhone 14, have an automatic Crash Detection feature, as long as the setting is turned on.”
Lindsay has since been recovering from her injuries in hospital.
But her story demonstrates how vital – and even life-saving – such phone features can be.
Crash detection is available on iPhone 14 and all subsequent models – with iOS 16 or later installed.
It is also there on Apple Watch Series 8 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), and Apple Watch Ultra or later.
This requires watchOS 9 or later to be installed.
Go to Settings and scroll down to Emergency SOS to find the on-off toggle.
In this section, you can turn the “Call After Severe Car Crash” feature on.
You can also add emergency contacts in the health app so they are notified as well if a disaster strikes.
