This Hidden iPhone Feature Can Save Your Life in a Car Crash—And Most People Don’t Even Know It Exists
Years ago, I worked for a state water quality agency. I’d drive around the back roads of Oklahoma hauling a big boat or dangle off a highway bridge collecting water samples—all while massive logging trucks (and plenty of speeding cars ) zipped by in a cloud of dust. It was nerve-racking, but I never got in an accident. One of my co-workers wasn’t so lucky. He was alone, like I often was. He hit a deer, then a tree. Luckily, he wasn’t injured, but he had no way to call for help. So he walked. For hours. Today, he’d whip out his phone and call someone—but what if he was injured and couldn’t? What if you got in a car wreck and couldn’t reach your phone? Well, it turns out your iPhone has a way to help even without your input. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 6 million nonfatal accidents in 2024, the most recent data available, and more than 1.6 million wrecks that resulted in injur...