Packed with information, smart watches offer a host of functions, including one that is proving surprisingly problematic.
On Wednesday the police Central Okanagan announced that they are seeing an increase in false 911 alarms—which originate from smart watches.
“The Kelowna RCMPAlong with other emergency services, have responded to six separate false 911 calls recently this ski season,” police said.
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“The result of all smart watch owners unaware the ‘SOS function’ has been turned on.”
Police say that when a skier or snowboarder falls while wearing the smart watch, the watch’s built-in SOS function contacts police and emergency services as if the person had fallen at home or been involved in a vehicular collision .
Kelowna RCMP said “the latest incident occurred in the early afternoon of January 10, 2023, when watch work indicated an accident had occurred and emergency services were deployed.”
“The GPS coordinates of the watch showed the location to be at a local area ski resort, and, because the call did not provide a call-back number, the RCMP was unable to trace the source, leading to an unnecessary emergency response, including fire and ambulance services.” ”
Police say many smart-watch wearers don’t even realize the feature is working.
In turn, they’re asking smart-watch users to turn off the fall detection function when on ski hills or doing other sporting activities.
“The Kelowna RCMP responds to all calls,” said Const. Mike Della-Paolera, “but it could potentially lead to the inability of police, fire or ambulances to respond to true emergencies in a timely manner.”
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