The accident detection feature available in the latest iPhone models allowed a 19-year-old Quebecois man to alert his loved ones and emergency services just seconds after a road accident.
Many users are still unaware of the new features that Quebec's emergency services are expected to use more and that could save lives.
Last August, Frederic Vaillancourt, despite himself, discovered the usefulness of the emergency SOS function on his phone when his car was involved in an accident near San Mateu, on Montreal's south shore.
“I found myself in the oncoming lane, I moved the steering wheel and it overturned,” explains the man who found himself in a ditch under his windshield.
That's when Apple's technology came into play: Frederic's iPhone detected sudden movements and impacts, and automatically activated the phone's emergency protocol called Emergency SOS.
“He asked me the question: ‘Do you want to call emergency services?’” he explains. By pressing Yes, not only was 911 called, but his emergency contacts, his mother, father, and sister, were also alerted.
It was Frederick's mother, Cindy Davis, who filled out the emergency contact form on her son's cell phone last year.
“I have a friend, whose daughter was in an accident a year ago. She told me about it. She took the cell phone from my son and entered the emergency contacts,” Cindy Davis explains.
Photo by Maud Lareen Kiran
In the event of an accident, the function sends an alert to emergency contacts who are directly informed of the accident scene.
When Frederick's mother received the message, she headed to the scene. Fortunately, emergency services were at the scene, but were still able to contact Frederick and check on his condition.
Not used to its full potential
Quebec lags behind in using the functions available on modern telephone devices.
For example, the organization Urgences-santé has not yet been able to fully exploit its potential because it does not allow the sharing of some functional information, such as the patient's health record, explains the head of the organization department at Urgences-santé, Jean-Pierre Rouleau.
“Quebec lags behind the United States and even Ontario,” he explains, because Urgences-santé's computer systems are not compatible with RapidSOS, the platform that collects data from Apple devices in an “emergency” situation.
“Right now, we're not using it,” he says. The incompatibility of our systems means that the time it takes to obtain information is very long,” confirms the head of the department.
The computer systems are scheduled to be upgraded this year, which could make it easier to access this data in the event of an accident.
While waiting for systems to update, experts recommend iPhone users to configure their emergency contacts and health records.
How to use the emergency SOS function correctly
The SOS emergency detection feature is activated by default on the iPhone 14 or any other newer model. It's also available on Apple Watch Series 8 or any next-generation devices.
To add emergency contacts:
– Open the Health app
– Click on the Medical Information tab
– Choose “Edit”
– Add your emergency contacts
