Apple Watch emergency call feature saves bicyclist struck by car

Posted:
in Apple Watch
British cyclist Jay Dixon says he might not be alive after a car hit him, if it weren't for his Apple Watch detecting his fall, and summoning help.

Fall Detection on Apple Watch
Fall Detection on Apple Watch


Jay Dixon, a cyclist in Cleethorpes, north east England, was hit by a car as he attempted to turn down a side road. The collision sent him flying off the bike, and his Apple Watch detected the fall as he hit the ground.

"I came straight off the bike and was immediately concussed," he told local news service GrimsbyLive. "The driver came over to see me, but I was incredibly tired and drifting in and out of consciousness."

"There was a moment when I was laid on the floor and I thought 'do I wake up or lay here and give in'?" he continued. "I kept trying to get up, but I just couldn't manage it, I was incredibly lucky. If I'd have collided with the car a few more inches to the right I think I would be dead."

Even while calling it a near miss, Dixon also says he believes he is alive because of his Apple Watch.

"When I fell, my watch sent out an emergency signal to the emergency services and my partner," he said. "It had detected I'd taken a fall and sent my exact location to both parties. It tells you exactly what's happened and my partner was there within 15 minutes."

Cyclist Jay Dixon (source: Jay Dixon, GrimsbyLive)
Cyclist Jay Dixon (source: Jay Dixon, GrimsbyLive)


Dixon reports that he now has cuts and bruises, but intends to be back out on the bike as soon as possible.

This is just the latest of many reports of Apple Watch saving lives, including ones where the device detected a fall. It's not known which Apple Watch Dixon was wearing, but all recent ones support fall detection.

Apple Watch Series 7 has also introduced an improved ability to recognize falls from bikes.

Jay Dixon's story was first spotted by iMore.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    In today's news Apple Watch working as intended. Also a smoke detector detected smoke and man was able to remove burning pot from stove. 
    When smoke alarms were a new thing on the market I recall seeing a lot of follow-on stories about how they woke families up when the Christmas tree caught fire in the living room. Saved quite it few lives, they did.

    And the stories helped by encouraging more people to follow that example and use the new technology to their benefit. Thus saying even more lives.

    Fall detection, blood ox, heart monitoring, these are the new technologies that too, can save more lives. If enough people adopt them.

    But I guess the idea that these types of articles might actually be of benefit tend to elude a few people...
    muthuk_vanalingam
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