Coach's Corner — Do You Need Crash Detection on Your Ride?
Our Coach’s Corner series is your chance to have your biggest cycling questions answered — right from longtime cycling coach Darryl MacKenzie. In these short Q&As, Coach Darryl speaks from his 35+ years of cycling and coaching experience to help you become a stronger, smarter cyclist.
Safe Cyclist:
Coach, besides the obvious helmet, do you recommend any other key safety supports when out on a ride?
Coach Darryl:
A helmet should always be a no-brainer on rides. Or should I say, it keeps you from becoming a “no-brainer!” That much, as you said, is obvious.
But recently, I’ve come to depend on another safety tool for my rides — one I discovered almost by accident.
A Fall That Could Have Been Worse
Last month, I had an awkward dismount.
I was riding solo and came up to a red light behind two other cyclists. When the light changed, we started pedaling again. About 10 seconds later, the front rider made a move the second rider wasn’t expecting, and that rider went down.
I didn’t have time to brake. I also didn’t want to hit the rider on the ground, so I rolled myself and the bike to the right. I managed to unclip my right foot to avoid a complete crash-landing, but I still landed hard.
Almost immediately, my Apple Watch sounded an alarm.
It displayed a message: “It looks like you have taken a hard fall.” Then it gave me two options:
- Emergency SOS
- I’m OK
It also warned me that if I didn’t respond within a short time, it would assume I couldn’t — and begin contacting emergency services.
Why Crash Detection Matters
Before this ride, I had already set up my watch to contact:
- 911, where there are procedures for handling emergencies
- A trusted friend who is an ER nurse
Many riders might also include a family member.
If I hadn’t responded, the watch would have automatically:
- Alerted my emergency contacts
- Sent my GPS location
- Initiated help on my behalf
And it works 24 hours a day — not just when cycling.
The Reality of Riding Alone
Most cyclists give plenty of thought to avoiding crashes, but many of us don’t think about what happens after a crash. And sometimes help doesn’t come quickly — especially if you’re riding alone.
It’s not a cycling example, but I know of a rider who was thrown from a horse into a canyon. His horse returned without him, and others eventually went searching. He was found unconscious, but only after a delay.
On one of our annual Fourth of July rides, a large group of cyclists rode right past a crash site without realizing it. A motorist had gone off the road the night before, and we didn’t even notice him. He wasn’t discovered until the next day.
In both cases, immediate notification could have made a difference.
Set Your Smartwatch for Safety
The bottom line? A helmet protects you during a crash. But it isn’t perfect, and it can’t help you if you’re immobilized or unconscious. If you’re unable to call for help yourself, an emergency notification device can protect you in the aftermath of a bad accident. It may even save your life.
Many smartwatches and cycling devices now offer this type of crash detection, so it’s worth taking the time to:
- Set up emergency contacts.
- Enable location sharing.
- Make sure the feature is active before you ride.
You may never need it — but if you do, you’ll be glad you had it on and ready to go.
Image by Neacsu Tudor on Pexels
