Download festival asked fans to turn off smartwatches over the weekend. Police said hundreds of fake emergency calls came from the devices last year. The watches thought people had crashed when they were just moshing at concerts. Emergency operators had to check each false alarm instead of helping real emergencies.
Smartwatch crash detection systems cannot tell the difference between accidents and rock concerts. The devices sent 700 wrong emergency calls during 2023 Download. Leicestershire Police workers spent time calling people back to make sure they were safe. Concert fans were told to answer callbacks if their watches made automatic emergency calls.
Green Day and Sleep Token headlined the successful weekend event. The festival ended yesterday without major problems. Organizers dealt with controversy about bathroom rules earlier. Several bands criticized policies about transgender people using facilities. Beauty brand Lush ended its partnership with Download over the issue.
Smartwatch crash detection systems cannot tell the difference between accidents and rock concerts. The devices sent 700 wrong emergency calls during 2023 Download. Leicestershire Police workers spent time calling people back to make sure they were safe. Concert fans were told to answer callbacks if their watches made automatic emergency calls.
Green Day and Sleep Token headlined the successful weekend event. The festival ended yesterday without major problems. Organizers dealt with controversy about bathroom rules earlier. Several bands criticized policies about transgender people using facilities. Beauty brand Lush ended its partnership with Download over the issue.
