Motorcyclist's Apple watch alerts girlfriend & calls for ambulance after hit-&-run accident at Ang Mo Kio

Technology can save lives.

Zhangxin Zheng | September 29, 2021, 02:53 PM

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Smart devices can come in handy in times of need.

A 24-year-old motorcyclist's smart watch called for help after he got into an accident.

Motorcyclist passed out after colliding with a van

The motorcyclist, named Muhammad Fitri, fell off his bike after colliding with a van at Ang Mo Kio.

While lying on the ground, he saw the vehicle drive off before losing consciousness, he told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao.

The accident happened at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 and Ang Mo Kio Street 31 on Sep. 25 evening, according to the report.

The police confirmed the incident as a hit-and-run.

Fitri's family is also looking for any further information and witnesses of this accident.

Smart watch alerted emergency contacts

Fitri said that his Apple's smart watch detected a hard fall and promptly sent a message to his emergency contacts, which included his girlfriend. The smart watch also called for an ambulance.

Wanbao added that passers-by also spoke to the girlfriend and told her what happened. She and Fitri's family then found out that it was the smart watch that contacted them.

Fitri's family said that they were very thankful for this life-saving function as the streets were relatively empty at that point of time.

Fitri could have missed the golden hour of rescue if not for the smart watch's function.

via Tynaa Eynaa/Facebook.

via Tynaa Eynaa/Facebook.

Fortunately, he slowly regained consciousness when the paramedics arrived at scene.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they were alerted to the accident at around 8:20pm. Fitri was conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Fall detection function not limited to Apple Watch

According to Apple, models under Series 4 or later can detect hard falls.

When a hard fall is detected, it will tap the user on their wrist, sound an alarm, and show an alert.

The watch will not alert emergency services if it detects movement from the user.

However, if the user is immobile for at least one minute, the device will automatically call the emergency contacts and send a message to them. It will also call for an ambulance.

Several smart watches have this function, including the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and a few Garmin Watch models.

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Top image via Lianhe Wanbao