iPhone users involved in a car crash could soon have their phone automatically call for help.

The Wall Street Journal has seen plans by the company to roll out a product feature called “crash detection” for iPhones and Apple Watches.

It says crash detection uses data from sensors built into Apple devices including the accelerometer to detect car accidents as they occur, for instance by measuring a sudden spike in G-forces on impact.

It says the feature would mark the latest move by Apple and its competitors to use motion-sensor technology to build safety functions into their devices adding that Apple introduced a fall-detection feature in its smartwatch several years ago that senses when wearers have taken a hard fall and calls for help if they don’t respond to a notification asking if they are OK. The company this year added a feature to the newest version of its iPhone operating system that assesses the walking steadiness of users.

(Picture – Yay Images)