Smartphone app calls 911 for you

Smartphone app calls 911 for you


Save Story
Leer en espaƱol

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Emergency responders are pretty quick to the scene of an accident in Salt Lake. But what if it happened on a rural road or in a foreign country? A Utah company has come up with a smartphone application that can solve those problems. My-911 will do the work for you, says company spokesman Larry Hurwitz.

"It automatically calls 911 for you in hands-free mode or speaker mode," he says.

It can also call up to five people. The application uses crash-detection technology to dial the number and GPS tracking to help responders. You can tailor the application so that only the worst of accidents or slightest pressure can set it off. That can be helpful for older people who could fall and can't get up.

Hurwitz says it also has a stealth mode in the unlikely event that you are abducted.

"You just push the button and there is no buzzing or little alarm. It just quietly throws it into hands-free mode," he explains.

He says even that can help dispatchers know what is going on.

Parents may want to get the app just so they can keep track of their teen drivers.

"We have speed alerts in the event the car is speeding, you can be alerted," says Hurwitz. He says you can also set up an electronic fence that will notify parents when they are going outside of certain areas or when they are going to places they probably shouldn't. So maybe your high school student won't want this cool, new app.

Hurwitz says the more features you add, the more expensive it gets. But the company says it is the least expensive of its kind.

E-mail: cwall@ksl.com

Related links

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Cleon Wall

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast