iPhone 14's Crash Detection Mistaking Roller Coaster Rides for Car Crashes

The iPhone 14's Crash Detection feature is accidentally being triggered and therefore calling emergency services when users are riding a roller coaster rather than being involved in a real automotive accident.

iPhone 14 Car Crash Detection
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, several users of the new ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro at amusement parks across the United States have reported emergency services and contacts being alerted that they've been involved in a car crash as they've ridden roller coasters. The accidental trigger of Apple's latest safety features is likely caused by the sudden braking and movement of roller coasters, triggering the ‌iPhone‌'s sensors to misinterpret the movement as a car crash.

The Wall Street Journal reports at least six incidents of emergency services being called for false alarms. In response to the false alarms, an Apple spokesperson said Apple tested the feature with over a million hours of car crash data and real-world driving analysis. Several tests have already been done to test the accuracy of the ‌iPhone‌ 14's Crash Detection, with varying results.

In response to a test done by The Wall Street Journal in a junkyard where the ‌iPhone‌ failed to notice some car crashes, Apple said the testing condition did not provide the ‌iPhone‌ with enough factors to trigger an alert. Apple said the iPhones were not connected to Bluetooth or CarPlay and may not have traveled enough distance before impact for the device to register the crash. Crash Detection is available on the ‌iPhone‌ 14, ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra.

Related Forums: Apple Watch, iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...

Top Rated Comments

dazzysima Avatar
41 months ago

I am 100% sure theme parks would not allow guests to bring their phones onto the rollercoasters.
Wut? It will just be in the pockets of those on the rollercoaster.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carlson-online Avatar
41 months ago
and those youtubers destroyed cars when they could have been doing this instead !
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kissmo1980 Avatar
41 months ago
What world we are living in - living at the mercy of our phones.
If this is a problem that is worth making a big deal out of.... Jesus!

There is a mental recession going around this planet, not just financial.

Turn the darn car crash detection before jumping into such rides and go about your life.
Humanity has reached the peak of boredom and makes drama about the most irrelevant things.

What's next? Without devices we won't go out of the house soon? ???
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
41 months ago

Who takes their iPhone on a roller coaster in the first place?
I'd imagine close on 100% of iPhone owners who go on rollercoasters?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ashbash75 Avatar
41 months ago

Who takes their iPhone on a roller coaster in the first place?
The same people that take them to the beach, on the water, up a mountain.....
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
41 months ago

I am 100% sure theme parks would not allow guests to bring their phones onto the rollercoasters.
I can't even begin to count the number of theme parks I've been to in the US, Europe and Middle East, yet I've never been to a park or even one single ride where mobile phones were not allowed.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)