Dispatchers see increase of accidental 911 calls because of smart devices

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WPDE) — If you sleep on your watch the wrong way, you could get a call from a 9-1-1 dispatcher! That’s because over the past few years, since people have been buying smart watches, Horry County 9-1-1 tells us many of them have been calling 9-1-1 on accident.

“I just kind of panicked, like I guess most people would in that situation,” said Stephen North, the lead technician at Prestige Mobile Repair in Surfside Beach.

He’s talking about dialing 9-1-1 on accident.

“This is Horry County 9-1-1, do you have an emergency….. Hello?” is what ABC 15’s crew heard five times within 15 minutes, dispatchers all around could be heard saying something similar.

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