Apple Watch Offers New Ways to Measure Falls and Can Alert Emergency Services for You

October 07, 2021, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Falls off of bikes are a common source of injury and of concussion. When other vehicles or pedestrians are involved cyclists can generally count on having someone help them and to call 911 if required. If a cyclist falls while alone on the road, or is involved in a hit and run then they may be left at the side or the road or in a ditch for sometime before being found. This delay in care can complicate and medical injuries, or even end in death.

The Apple Watch and iOS have allowed functionality to measure falls from a standing position for some time, however the newest versions of both offer cyclists some very helpful metrics.

Apple announced this week that the Apple Watch will now detect when you begin riding your bike and will prompt you to start the workout feature on the watch, it will automatically pause and resume when you take breaks, and most usefully it has a fall detection feature.

Apple Watch 4 and beyond can already detect falls by sensing the unique motion and impact of a fall. The new version is updated to sense the specifics of falling off a bike. The feature for cycling falls is a good addition.

When the watch detects any hard fall (from walking or cycling) it will

• Tap on your wrist, sound and alarm
• Display an alert.
• It will allow you to contact emergency services immediately from the watch if required,  or you can dismiss the notice if you are alright.
• If the watch detects that you have not moved for a minute after the fall it will tap on your wrist, set a 30 second countdown, and then immediately call emergency services on your behalf and will send a message to your listed emergency contacts with your location and a message that you have taken a hard fall and emergency services have been notified. It is up to the owner of the watch to set who their emergency contacts are.

The watch will send an audio message to 911 stating you have taken a hard fall and disclosing your precise location to the emergency services. It will also allow you to respond to the 911 operator if you are able to.

This feature is a very useful one for people who cycle a lot in remote areas, or who cycle alone. You can read about the full functionality of the feature here on the Apple website.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

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