Carrying emergency information

[rcannon100]

@jwetzel 39807 wrote:

My experience in four years as an EMT is that medics won’t, if your are in an accident where it will be needed then they will be too busy. Police will likely get to it after you are at the hospital so they can notify someone, or they will call ‘home’.

This past year a cyclist died during Bike Virginia. This incident was discussed on the Potomac Pedalers email group. As I recall, someone was able to call his family because he had put an ICE POC on his phone. ICE is endorsed by multiple local government and emergency associations:

* In Case of Emergency (ICE) St Paul Mn
* In Case of Emergency (ICE) Burrlington, NC
* In case of emergency, put your cell on ICE USAToday
* In Case of Emergency (ICE) University of Virginia

Put it this way – it will take you all of 10 seconds to do – and there is a chance it might help. Between the Road ID and ICE on the phone, I think the Road ID is better – it is on your body (but do both). I was once found in a ditch – who knows where my bike or my bag was (cell phones didnt exist them and I didnt like carrying a telegraph around with me).

[mstone]

people don’t lock their phones?

[rcannon100]

@mstone 40098 wrote:

people don’t lock their phones?

Good question. Blackberries are locked. But they have a “owner information” field. Whatever information you put there shows up on your first (locked) screen. So mine has my name and my ICE number. There are also apparently ICE apps that you can download. Sounds like the blackberry app I linked is designed for the situation where you are not the victim, but a family member is, and you want to remember their blood type on the spot.

One word of caution. All I do is have phone numbers. Be real careful about loading other information (date of birth, place of birth, even blood type) into a third party application who privacy policy you are not familiar with, and the security of such information could be compromised. There is a reason a lot of applications are free; their business plan is to mine your personal information and use it for other purposes.

[fuzzy]

Yeah, i jail broke my iPhone & one neat thing i did was slap an app that shows what ever info i want when the screen powers on.

For those of you who aren’t going to jailbreak your iPhone i have another idea- use whatever photo for when the screen powers on- edit the photo & type your info on the bottom corner somewhere so that in the even someone finds your phone & wakes it up they’ll see who to call

[Certifried]

After reading this topic and thinking about the fact that I don’t carry any information to assist if something happened, I logged on to RoadID.com and bought one.

As a thank you, they gave me a coupon code.
ThanksMark19929611
it can be used 20 times in the next 30 days, and will save you $1.

Here are the instructions they sent on how to tell you about it, but I think the above method is just fine, this is for humor:

Quote:

**********BEGIN Sample Email**********

Hey Everyone,

I just ordered one of the best products ever. It’s called a Road ID – perhaps you’ve heard of it. If you haven’t, go to their website and check it out. Road ID is a great product that could save your life someday.

When I ordered, they gave me a coupon that I could pass along to my friends. Here’s the coupon number:

Coupon Number: ThanksMark19929611

The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 02/10/2013. To order, simply go to RoadID.com or click the link below:

http://www.RoadID.com/?CID=ThanksMark19929611

If you prefer, you can call them at 800-345-6336.

You can thank me later,

Mark Nielsen

Oh by the way, their website is awesome, the customer service is outstanding, and the owners are very smart and good looking.

**********END Sample Email**********
**********************************

SAMPLE TWEET: Feel free to copy the following text and paste it into Twitter. Don’t know what a “Tweet” or “Twitter” is? Ask your kids.

********BEGIN Sample TWEET*********

I finally ordered a Road ID. Don’t have one yet? Do it now. Coupon ThanksMark19929611 saves a buck – valid 30 days http://www.RoadID.com @RoadID

*********END Sample TWEET**********
**********************************

[DaveK]

This thread has made me consider wearing my Road ID 24/7… I always wear a Road ID ankle band when I ride (except commuting, which is probably stupid of me).

[consularrider]

Can Road ID make a light up ankle band?

[KLizotte]

Saw this sobering blog article about RoadID from a paramedic’s point of view:

Perspective from a Cyclist and Paramedic

[americancyclo]

I’ve never really thought of it as something the paramedics would use. More for cops or hospital or coroner. I agree with his sentiment that if a paramedic is needed to save your life, they’re going to do what they are trained to do, and don’t really care about who you are.

[Steve]

@americancyclo 46096 wrote:

I’ve never really thought of it as something the paramedics would use. More for cops or hospital or coroner. I agree with his sentiment that if a paramedic is needed to save your life, they’re going to do what they are trained to do, and don’t really care about who you are.

Agreed. Or even just people who find you. I figure if something happens to me on my bike, there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be on the trail. The first person to find me is likely to be another cyclist/runner. They’ll probably call 911 (I hope), but they might even call someone on my RoadID, especially if it’s not life threatening, like a concussion or something.

[KLizotte]

^^Good point^^

[DaveK]

Great perspective. It does make me reconsider a bit what info to provide on my RoadID.

[acc]

Honestly, it doesn’t matter much. Unless you have a dire medical problem that needs to be communicated to rescue personnel, identifying you isn’t high on the priority list.

It’s much more important to carry self-resuce equipment. Extra calories, plenty of water, extra tubes, some cash. It’s much more likely that you’ll find yourself in a situation where prior planning can help you save yourself.

[DaveK]

@acc 46198 wrote:

Honestly, it doesn’t matter much. Unless you have a dire medical problem that needs to be communicated to rescue personnel, identifying you isn’t high on the priority list[/quote]

Good point from my friend – it may not be the EMT that’s calling your loved ones, it might be your riding buddy as you’re being treated. And I bet most people, like me, have their phones locked and no way for anyone else to get into their contacts or to an ICE number.

Quote:

It’s much more important to carry self-resuce equipment. Extra calories, plenty of water, extra tubes, some cash. It’s much more likely that you’ll find yourself in a situation where prior planning can help you save yourself.

Completely agreed.

[dbb]

I have the information from my RoadID on a laminated wallet card behind my driver’s license. It has the critical phone numbers and other stuff. Before I did this, there was nothing in my wallet with emergency contact info.

[Author]

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