Montana Skiers with Smartwatches are Flooding Emergency 911 Calls
If you have spent any amount of time on a ski hill, chances are your first few attempts were spent mostly on your butt. That was until you realized your butt was beginning to resemble a frozen Butterball turkey. So you eventually got up and let gravity gracefully pull you down the hill. And you soon realized that not every trip down the hill was going to resemble a performance worthy of the Olympics (AKA you probably fell down plenty.)
Seasoned skiers and snowboarders have all heard the term "Yardsale." What is a "Yardsale?"
According to Urban Dictionary
When a skier or snowboarder eats it on the slopes and loses all of their gear. If a skier loses his skies, poles, hat, goggles, and anything else, shout "YARD SALE" from the ski lift above him.
Well, it appears those unfortunate and unplanned "yardsales" are being advertised further than just the chair lift. They are flooding the phone lines for local 911 dispatchers.
Smartwatches are becoming more and more popular these days, allowing people to check texts and even call from their watch. The smartwatches also have many other cool features. One of which is a way to call 911 with the click of a button. Some smartwatches even have a feature that will automatically call 911 if it senses you have taken a hard fall. This is turning into a big issue for Montana 911 operators, especially during the winter.
According to MTN News
One example is at the Granite County Sheriff’s Office, which is now seeing more and more of these calls come from Discovery Ski Area. Falling isn't unusual on the ski hill, and the county's small 911 dispatch center is being overwhelmed by emergency calls that people did not intend to make.
For anyone choosing to ride with a smartwatch. Do our emergency services a favor and double-check your settings on the watch before getting on the chairlift. It would be a big help, and you won't need to unnecessarily advertise your unintentional yardsale.