Apple medical ID and iPhone lock screen in remote places

I an a rural fire fighter in Australia. I sometimes operate in places away from man-built infrastructure where there is no cellphone signal. Recently, on a hike, my iPhone displayed a lock screen which was shared by the Medical ID app. I was not far from "civilization" as a crow flies, yet I was in a deep gully, below cellphone signal penetration (as I discovered). I had a slip, then a fall on a mossy rock ledge, landing badly. I had to quickly figure out exactly where I was. I couldn't get past this shared lock screen to get to the GPS features and apps on the iPhone. The iPhone kept suggesting I try again in some minutes. That was not helpful info in the context.

I found this odd, possibly dangerous. Does anybody agree? We know GPS accessibility can work even if there's no cellphone signal.

I have since disabled this "feature". Yet, in the context, I was surprised to see it there at all. It's easy to imagine dire circumstances where this shared lock screen would get in the way of a rescue/recovery.

I'm wondering if Apple might disable the default "ON" status of this feature (I recently upgraded to iOS 14.0.1).

Learning: Be wary of the Medical ID shared lock screen feature if you venture out into no-cellphone-signal areas. Take other, non-iPhone gear with you (separate GPS receiver, also PLB device or small personal satphone-signal-based transceiver).