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Automatic Crash Notification Is Now On Your Cell Phone

By Jacob Sherman

When you get in a car accident, technology is your best friend. Your seatbelt secures you, your airbags deploy automatically, you call an ambulance or a tow truck on your cell phone, and so on. The protective role of technology just grew some more, as an automatic crash notification phone app called My911 can now eliminate a few more steps from the crash back to security. While your airbags are deploying, your phone will already be making the call that may save your life.

At first glance, it may seem like this could be asking more of your phone than it was made to handle. But the truth is, smartphones now come equipped with the same technology behind what tells your airbags when to deploy: an accelerometer. If you've ever seen a teenager standing in line or sitting at the bus stop, tilting his iphone from side to side, or used an in-phone GPS navigation system and wondered how your phone can track your movement so well, then you've seen the accelerometer in action. This same technology has now been patented to recognize crash-like G-forces instead of measuring tilts from side to side.

Once your phone has sensed the crash, GPS technology allows it to explain where you are more precisely and quickly than we humans can, even if you're on your own street and fully conscious. The real peace of mind that this brings, though, is in the case of a severe crash when all in the car might be knocked unconscious. This eliminates some of the "what if" scenarios and makes the process more efficient whether the worst happens or not.

But what if your phone's mistaken? When a crash is detected, you have the opportunity to cancel the call manually. In addition, your call alerts an operator who attempts to contact you before calling 911 to report your crash. The procedure is simple and brings peace of mind to a new level in a world where car crashes kill and injure so many on a daily basis. It is easy to see how this patent can change the way that emergency response works, making life saving more immediate, secure, and efficient when it matters most. As the versatility of phones increases, peace of mind is certainly one of the positive consequences.

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