Almost everyone has a cell phone these days, and we know how capable they are for many uses. So-called smart phones are essentially little computers, but many people are unaware of potentially life-saving signals they can send out in an emergency.
Recently, a Macon County resident living on Tessentee Rd., near Otto, accidentally lost her cell phone after it slid off the dashboard of her truck while she was rounding a sharp curve. Unfortunately, she was unaware of the loss until after she returned home and could not locate the phone.
Within minutes of the incident, some emergency contacts on her phone began attempting to contact her; her husband also received a message indicating she may have been in an accident.
The beacon capability, called “Emergency SOS via Satellite” is available on Apple iPhone models 14 and later.
That feature allows users to connect to a satellite to send messages when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is unavailable. It can also automatically send notifications to emergency services in the event of a car wreck if the “crash detection” or “fall detection” capabilities are activated. The only requirement is that the user be within satellite coverage. While this capability comes default with iPhones, it is also on newer Android models as well (e.g., Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy).
Quick response
When the incident occurred July 2 on Tessentee Rd., an alert signal was sent out automatically from the phone, which was run over by a passing vehicle. Macon County Dispatch, based out of Franklin, received the message via satellite which read: “Vehicle crash detected and likely to have resulted in injury.”
Otto Fire Department personnel received the message from dispatch, prompting Fire Chief Kevin Fountain and other volunteer personnel to respond.
Said Fountain regarding the technology, “It will triangulate and pinpoint where you are.” He received the alert on his phone at his residence, near the North Carolina/ Georgia line. The report included an address on Tessentee Rd., along with the latitude/longitude coordinates that pinpointed the incident location to within 11 centimeters, or roughly four inches.
“Your phone has a potentiometer in it,” said Fountain. “A potentiometer works related to gravity; if a phone is jarred too much, the potentiometer interprets it as something bad. It also works off of GPS technology.”
“It has to be in a moving vehicle to detect erroneous behavior,” added Fire Captain Tim Rodriquez. “When you are driving a vehicle, your iOS (iPhone Operating System) depends entirely on whether you are moving. It automatically flips into driving mode [once the vehicle starts moving]. So, if you accidentally put the phone on top of the car and you are driving down the road, and the phone falls off, that activates the capability.”
In the case of Otto’s fire department, Fountain and Rodriquez reported that of all the phone-related alerts they have received – approximately 10 – only two have been actual vehicle accidents/wrecks.
Responding to the July 2 event, Fountain arrived on the scene within 10 minutes from his location. He was joined by nine other volunteer personnel attached to the Otto Fire Department. Despite the incident turning out to not be a wreck or involving any injuries, Rodriquez emphasized the routine fire department response to potential emergencies.
“It’s no different than a fire alarm,” he said. “We treat all fire alarms as though they are structural fires. Even though 95% of the time, they’re not.”
“You don’t have any service in that area,” said Fountain. “So, the only way to get a message out is via a satellite capability.”
Today, some insurance companies use the same technology in order to track – so long as customers sign up to do so – cell phone usage while vehicles are in motion. The program is offered to reward responsible drivers with discounts if points add up to safe driving.
Essentially, the potentiometer detects which side the phone enters the vehicle from, and whether it is handled during a driving event. Drivers can submit information to verify they were not actually driving in some cases, which results in no criteria adding up safe driver points.