By EMS1 Staff
TOLLAND, Conn. — Dispatchers reported a surge in 911 calls in recent months due to unintentional contact with the screens of people’s smart watches.
FOX61.com reported that the Tolland County Mutual Aid Fire Service sent a warning to Apple Watch users about the spike in accidental “wrist-dials.” The calls, according to authorities, are taking time away for those with a real emergency.
A tech expert said the auto 911 dial feature on the watches is part of the SOS default settings, but can be disabled.
“Apple’s going to have to look at it and say well OK what are the pros and the cons of this? Is this something where we need to make a little more friction in it do we need to make it where we need to confirm the call?” tech ethicist David Ryan Polgar said.
Officials said to make sure the screen lock is on the ‘on’ position.