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Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

seattletimes.com

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Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#671

Post by pndy »

WA wrote: post #485

I bet this is a great feature (and I do have an Apple Watch), but can we please hold for a sec here? This piece reads like an Ad. Furthermore, many comments here are about "I want to see my kids grow up". Now please, calculate the odds of: - you are in a terrible accident - there is no one around you to call an ambulance - you can’t call an ambulance yourself, because you are knocked out or can’t move I think the odd…

I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time such news surfaces shortly after Apple releases new line of devices.

Even if this situation coincidentally has happened recently, the subtle message is still here: "you can rely on Apple Watch and you should buy one - better safe than sorry"

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#672

Post by inimino »

SomeOldThrow wrote: post #669
inimino wrote: post #645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. But you own your blender. It's naïve to think you own your phone just because you carry it around.

Is it? That definition of property worked pretty well. Try and take it I’ll hit you, etc. Otherwise why pay for it and why not just take it by force? Just a matter of time before these companies get too greedy and get hit with violence.

Maybe it shouldn't be, but it is. People are putting microphones in their homes that Amazon controls and that serve no purpose but to let them spend money with Amazon more conveniently. The old definition of property doesn't really capture that does it?

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#673

Post by gumby »

WA wrote: post #485

I bet this is a great feature (and I do have an Apple Watch), but can we please hold for a sec here? This piece reads like an Ad. Furthermore, many comments here are about "I want to see my kids grow up". Now please, calculate the odds of: - you are in a terrible accident - there is no one around you to call an ambulance - you can’t call an ambulance yourself, because you are knocked out or can’t move I think the odd…

Happened to me spring skiing last year. Not a lot of people on the mountain; I was separated from my group; I fell and broke some ribs and could not move; I was lying on/in the snow but not dressed for those conditions. My watch called 911 and messaged my kid.

So yes, it happens.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#674

Post by LorenPechtel »

okmokmz wrote: post #638
LorenPechtel wrote: post #625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telling my wife I'm going up the South Loop will let her point S&R in the general area. Where on the 8 1/2 miles of trail (or a bit off it if I stopped to take a leak) am I? (However, that's probably better than what the watch could do as service along there varies from marginal to nonexistent.) On the other hand, I don't see that there is any appreciable fall risk from hiking. It's the scramblers that get hurt, not…

That's a fair point, assuming you have service it could make it easier to find your specific location in case something happens. However, I'd be much more likely to recommend a GPS beacon specifically designed for this purpose rather than an apple watch. My dad and I used to wear beacons while skiing in the outback in case of an avalanche

I carry a PLB--but those can't sense a fall, they only broadcast if you specifically trigger them.

Anyway, you're thinking of an avalanche beacon. Those are to help others you are with find you quickly if you're buried in the snow, they have no GPS capability.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#675

Post by LorenPechtel »

stevenhubertron wrote: post #641
okmokmz wrote: post #638

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a fair point, assuming you have service it could make it easier to find your specific location in case something happens. However, I'd be much more likely to recommend a GPS beacon specifically designed for this purpose rather than an apple watch. My dad and I used to wear beacons while skiing in the outback in case of an avalanche

I'd also consider trail running. I sometimes run after work. I don't carry alot, and on the trails at sunset I hardly see anyone. I could see myself taking a tumble and needing help. I once encountered a wolf out there and sprinted like never before to get out of the area. I could have easily fell.

Yeah, trail runners certainly could take a tumble, also. I see plenty of them and I'm amazed at their ability to avoid injury on all the rocks on the trail.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#676

Post by frabbit »

scottlamb wrote: post #193
frabbit wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems highly likely to me that the Culture of Fear that pervades affluent western societies will exactly lead to what you predict. And those of us that do not wear a permanent tracking device will have some sort of financial (insurance rates) and emotional punishments (peer pressure/blackmail) inflicted on us. Speaking for myself, I'm ready to die when its time. If my body is so weak and knackered that I cannot ev…

I can understand why you'd feel the risk of such an event is sufficiently low that it's not worth buying/charging/wearing a "permanent tracking device", particularly if you also feel it doesn't respect your privacy adequately. And I agree our collective tolerance to risk is going down over time. But I'm curious about this part of your comment: > Speaking for myself, I'm ready to die when its time. If my body is so we…

Agree about the quality of life afterwards being the most important issue. I have seen too many people who have lingered "alive". I suspect that if I get knocked down then there is a dichotomy of outcomes: 1) unpleasant, painful, survivable, not time-critical, not life-changing 2) major trauma, life can be saved with a time-critical intervention. Prognosis post-event is for a decreased quality of life. Would probably die if left without unusually quick ER.

I can only see the watch being useful for #2: the exact situation where I think it would be better that I die.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#677

Post by thirdsun »

snuxoll wrote: post #333
ludwigvan wrote: post #108

Does this feature work outside the US? Which countries are supported? https://www.apple.com/watch/cellular/ has a country list but not for this feature specifically. edit: found https://www.apple.com/watchos/feature-availability/

Emergency SOS should work in any country, as long as you have your iPhone nearby or you have a Cellular-enabled watch. Your second link is specific to international roaming with the cellular-enabled watch, which gets complicated for various reasons (do you need an active SIM, does the modem on the watch support bands used in that country).

The latest Series 5 watch has improved the international SOS feature - from the Ars Technica review[1]:

> The improvements to the SIP and cellular bands allows the Series 5 to make use of its SOS feature in more than 150 countries now. If you find yourself in a bad situation, or the Watch's fall detection kicks in when you fall off your bike during a cycling workout, users with cellular Series 5 models can now call emergency services in various countries.

[0] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/09/apple-watch-series-5...

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#678

Post by PovilasID »

If you live in country where emergency services number is not 911 there is sometimes a forward from 911 to the local number like 112 or phone may detect the local emergency services number. Problem is that not all countries have location detection for emergency calls.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#679

Post by shkkmo »

frabbit wrote: post #659
shkkmo wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, it seems like you both failed to accurately represent the linked article. The linked editorial does not limit itself to discussing the impact of public health policy. It does start with a link to an article that attempts to quantify the effects of a Canadian helmet law. However, it then discusses a number of other papers and the general methodological issues with trying to estimate effects of wearing a helmet.…

the article certainly does not endorse the claim you are responding to: "Bicycle helmets prevent neither concussions nor death" Incorrect. The article makes the strong and accurate claim that there has been no clear, measurable proof that helmets prevent concussion or death. This should come as no surprise. When cyclists are hit by cars or trucks the force of the collision is generally so huge that the aorta are rupt…

> The article makes the strong and accurate claim that there has been no clear, measurable proof that helmets prevent concussion or death.

I am curious what part of the editorial leads you to draw that conclusion. The editorial specifically acknowledges that there is evidence that individual helmet use does reduce head injury rates. The entire point of the editorial is to discuss how to reconcile the individual use studies with the canadian helmet law study.

The point is not that "helmets don't pervent head injuries", but that helmets, and specifically, helmet focused public policy, have a marginal impact on safety and distract us from other more effective policy interventions.

> an emphasis on helmets reflects a seductively individualistic approach to risk management (or even “victim blaming”) while the real gains lie elsewhere. It is certainly true that in many countries, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, cyclists have low injury rates, even though rates of cycling are high and almost no cyclists wear helmets. This seems to be achieved through interventions such as good infrastructure; stronger legislation to protect cyclists; and a culture of cycling as a popular, routine, non-sporty, non-risky behavior.

Removing private automobiles from public roads is completely unnecessary to achieve much better bicyclist safety.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#680

Post by shkkmo »

snowwrestler wrote: post #356
PhasmaFelis wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am not misrepresenting the paper: it attempts to explain why countries with mandatory helmet laws see _no_clearly_measurable_reduction in KSI (Killed, Seriously Injured) rates. And in doing so, it goes to some effort to explain why you cannot, from that, conclude that helmets have no effect on individual accident outcomes, all other things being equal. (Mainly because all other things aren't equal, and it's very…

> it goes to some effort to explain why you cannot, from that, conclude that helmets have no effect on individual accident outcomes Right. A friend who's an ER doctor once put it this way: "I'm going to hit you in the head with a hammer; you can wear a bike helmet or not, your choice." Statistics are all well and good, but it would take a rare allegiance to epidemiology to skip the helmet. I've also heard it said tha…

Nobody is saying that you shouldn't wear a helmet. The point is that Helmets are at best only a marginally effective public policy to make cyclists safer.

> an emphasis on helmets reflects a seductively individualistic approach to risk management (or even “victim blaming”) while the real gains lie elsewhere. It is certainly true that in many countries, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, cyclists have low injury rates, even though rates of cycling are high and almost no cyclists wear helmets. This seems to be achieved through interventions such as good infrastructure; stronger legislation to protect cyclists; and a culture of cycling as a popular, routine, non-sporty, non-risky behaviour.

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