Your Phone's Crash Detector Matters
Lessons for all of us from my dad's Kerala car crash (he's fine!)
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Tech Saves the Day: A Kerala Crash Detection Lesson
My father, T.P. Sreenivasan, 82, was involved in a serious car crash in Kerala, India, today. As you can see from the photos, the impact was significant—his car took a heavy hit on the road outside Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The best news of all: He was able to walk away from the wreckage completely unharmed, along with the chauffeur and a friend sitting with him in the back.
While we are incredibly grateful that he’s safe, this experience taught us a vital lesson about a piece of technology we often overlook: the crash detection feature on our smartphones. Yes, it can sometimes cause false alarms, but it can also do a world of good.
What We Learned Today
When my dad’s phone detected the impact, it immediately sprang into action, calling emergency services and sending alerts to those of us in his emergency contacts. Here are a few things we realized through this experience that everyone should know:
The golden 20 seconds: The iPhone’s crash detection gives two distinct 10-second warnings (a total of 20 seconds) before it automatically triggers an SOS call.
The concussion indicator: If you or a loved one can’t remember hearing those loud alarms or seeing the countdown, take it seriously. A lack of memory regarding those 20 seconds is a major red flag for a concussion or a brief blackout.
Precision matters: The SOS message sent to my phone included his precise GPS location near the Al Saj Convention center, allowing us to know exactly where he was before he even had the chance to call us himself.
How to Set This Up for Your Family
Don’t wait for an accident to check these settings. Most modern phones have these features, but they often require a quick manual setup to include your emergency contacts.
On iPhone
iPhone Crash Detection is available on iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max, and all iPhone 15/16 models running iOS 16 or later. Recent Apple Watch models offer this feature.
Open Settings > Emergency SOS.
Ensure Call After Severe Crash is toggled ON.
Tap Set up Emergency Contacts in Health.
In the Health app, create your Medical ID and add up to 10 emergency contacts. These are the people who will receive the GPS text if a crash is detected.
On Android
Pixel 3 and above, and certain high-end Xiaomi phones, offer this car crash detection mode. Samsung has yet to fully embrace this, but it is about to.
Open the Personal Safety app (pre-installed on Pixel, available on the Play Store for many others).
Go to Features > Car Crash Detection and follow the setup prompts.
Go to Settings > Safety & Emergency to add your emergency contacts and medical information.
Note for Samsung users: Go to Settings > Safety and emergency > Emergency SOS to customize your triggers (like pressing the side button 5 times).
The Bottom Line
We spent a lot of time today talking about how lucky he was, but a huge part of that “luck” was having a phone that was ready to act when he couldn’t. Take five minutes today to check your settings—and your parents’ settings, too.
Did we miss anything? Make a mistake? Do you have an idea for anything we’re up to? Let’s collaborate! sree.sreenivasan1@gmail.com and please connect w/ me: Twitter | IG | LinkedIn | FB | YouTube / Threads | Spread | TikTok
The best part of this story is that your dad and the other passengers are okay.
Thanks so much for posting this. I had no idea and it’s clearly a great tool. I will share widely. And of course, I’m thrilled. Your father and the others came through OK.