Excellent use of apple watch and Siri. Surprised she hit the steering wheel though - surely an airbag would have went off in such a new car (Nissan Rogue/Qashqai) and the seatbelt would have tightened instantly (was she wearing one?). Airbags are not only for frontal impacts, I remember my old 2003 Renault Laguna deploying various airbags including the steering wheel when I was hit from the side.
We’re missing something... she probably wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.
I too am glad she is safe and this is a good story. But she suffered all that damage but took a photo w/her watch without any facial wounds in the hospital, which I assume is shortly after the accident (based on hospital garb and ID bracelet)? I would think that many hits to the head that caused severe concussion and blackouts to do more damage. I had a head injury with just a slight concussion that grew a lump the size of a baseball on my forehead.
Not saying the accident wasn't severe, but thinking it might be a bit embellished.
The damage doesnt always show up instantly. That is outwardly and internally which is why a trip to the hospital is always recommrnded after such events. Even if you feel good.
As for the airbag not going off the is likely better off. Air bags havr been known to kill woman in such accidents. The seat belt question remains though. You stilll see people not wearing them every day which is beyond stupid.
It's amazing he number of people on these forums who dismissed the need for adding a cellular radio to the Apple Watch.
However, in this case the reality is, unless her phone was destroyed in the accident, or buried under something blocking it's microphones, she could have likely just as easily "commanded" the phone to call 911 and it would have been just as effective, even if she couldn't actually locate it. That said, it wouldn't be that unreasonable for the phone to have been thrown from the vehicle, or thrown to the flow and buried under a backpack or something.
So yeah, for all those who said there was no need for a cellular radio in an Apple Watch, welcome to the real world.
whoever said such things? all i recall is people saying that it will obviously eventually get cellular but that they have to walk before they can run, iterative improvements, lessons learned, smaller components, etc. nobody thought or claimed it would never get full connectivity.
My wife and I were hit 22 years ago. We were stopped at a stop light and were rear-ended by a woman doing 30 MPH who didn't even both to brake. We were hit so hard that there was in impression of her license plate in our bumper. We were both wearing seat belts. Neither of us even suffered a bruise.
The damage to her car isn't even remotely as bad as our damage. And our car had far fewer safety features that modern cars (like hers) now have.
I don't doubt the importance of having a way of contacting help in case of emergency. I just doubt if, in this instance, her life was truly saved by having an Apple Watch.
From the looks of the photo, this impact might have been off-center, which might have imparted significant lateral and/or spinning motion to her car, increasing her injuries.
Excellent use of apple watch and Siri. Surprised she hit the steering wheel though - surely an airbag would have went off in such a new car (Nissan Rogue/Qashqai) and the seatbelt would have tightened instantly (was she wearing one?). Airbags are not only for frontal impacts, I remember my old 2003 Renault Laguna deploying various airbags including the steering wheel when I was hit from the side.
We’re missing something... she probably wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.
Why would you say that?
If she was wearing her seatbelt, the airbags should have been more effective in preventing serious injuries.
It sounds like the steering wheel airbag didn’t deploy or failed to deploy effectively. Since the vehicle is relatively new, that suggests the later...
Airbags are designed to work in conjunction with the seatbelt. They’re not nearly as effective without it...
The article should have mentioned seatbelt use, the fact that it didn’t suggests it was written with a motivation. I.e. hey look at this smart lady who owns an Apple Watch. Rather than, hey look at this idiot who didn’t wear her seatbelt, suffered a bunch of unnecessary injuries, but at least the watch came in handy.
We have no data regarding seatbelt use or airbag deployment one way or another, despite trying to find out.
So, we didn't talk about it. The facts at hand are: she got rear-ended by a drunk driver, and used her Apple Watch to call for help.
Actually, I find it amazing and dissapointing that, on an AI forum, most comments seem directed at some criticism of her or the story rather than a discussion of her use of the Watch...
Does it really matter if she used a seat belt? Does it really matter that somebody else could have called in that particular instance? Does it really matter that she could have found her phone and used it?
No, the story is just one more example of how the Apple Watch is a multi-faceted tool that provides multiple functional advantages. It reminds me of the many objections to the original iPhone -- people saying you don't need it because everything it did could be done using some other product.
For myself, I cannot wait for my cell carrier to start supporting AW w/ LTE. As an old fart living alone, I need the ability to call for help when I've fallen and can't get up - whether it is at home or miles away from anything while running or cycling out on the trail.
I've been rear-ended twice in my very similar 2008 Rogue, the first time was low-speed, direct on and the second at high speed, offset. Airbags didn't deploy either time and I'm pretty sure there are no sensors back there. Can confirm firsthand that this story is plausible even with seatbelts on. Also, Maryland...
Excellent use of apple watch and Siri. Surprised she hit the steering wheel though - surely an airbag would have went off in such a new car (Nissan Rogue/Qashqai) and the seatbelt would have tightened instantly (was she wearing one?). Airbags are not only for frontal impacts, I remember my old 2003 Renault Laguna deploying various airbags including the steering wheel when I was hit from the side.
We’re missing something... she probably wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.
Why would you say that?
I am no expert but it seems weird to me that her head could touch the steering wheel despite having the seat belt attached. Anyway, glad everything went "fine" in the end.
Excellent use of apple watch and Siri. Surprised she hit the steering wheel though - surely an airbag would have went off in such a new car (Nissan Rogue/Qashqai) and the seatbelt would have tightened instantly (was she wearing one?). Airbags are not only for frontal impacts, I remember my old 2003 Renault Laguna deploying various airbags including the steering wheel when I was hit from the side.
We’re missing something... she probably wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.
Why would you say that?
I am no expert but it seems weird to me that her head could touch the steering wheel despite having the seat belt attached. Anyway, glad everything went "fine" in the end.
Not hugely weird. We don’t know her stature. She might be short and has her seat closer to the steering wheel would could factor into it.
She could be tall and the way she hit she might have slid out and hit the steering wheel.
Any number of ways she could have hit to be honest
Comments
As for the airbag not going off the is likely better off. Air bags havr been known to kill woman in such accidents. The seat belt question remains though. You stilll see people not wearing them every day which is beyond stupid.
From the looks of the photo, this impact might have been off-center, which might have imparted significant lateral and/or spinning motion to her car, increasing her injuries.
Does it really matter if she used a seat belt?
Does it really matter that somebody else could have called in that particular instance?
Does it really matter that she could have found her phone and used it?
No, the story is just one more example of how the Apple Watch is a multi-faceted tool that provides multiple functional advantages. It reminds me of the many objections to the original iPhone -- people saying you don't need it because everything it did could be done using some other product.
For myself, I cannot wait for my cell carrier to start supporting AW w/ LTE. As an old fart living alone, I need the ability to call for help when I've fallen and can't get up - whether it is at home or miles away from anything while running or cycling out on the trail.
She could be tall and the way she hit she might have slid out and hit the steering wheel.
Any number of ways she could have hit to be honest