Road ID - anyone use them for info in case of accident?

FrankGrimes

I came across this site and it seems like a good idea. Basically you wear a wrist band or dog tags with your personal info on it in case you're involved in an accident and people at the scene/emergency responders need to get your info.

There's also a version that has your own pin number on it and a URL - person can then go to that site/phone number, enter your PIN and get your full vital information (blood type, allergies, next of kin contact). All seems very US-centric so I'm not sure how useful it'd be here. Seems like a good idea though - anyone have these or anything like it?

thebouldwhacker

I have a personal details sticker on the inside of my helmet, only trouble is if I crash so bad that I cant communicate the last thing anyone will be doing is taking my helmet off.

I cycle solo a good bit in pretty rural areas so I have thought of getting something like this. I have been first on the scene at a number of bad car crashes and if those involved have no id or ice number things can get dragged out and messy....

Captain Havoc

My cycling Ireland licence is in my saddle bag (yes I know it's uneuro) which has my home address on it. I think some form of ID is a must when you cycle.

Caroline_ie

A sticker inside your helmet is more discreet. I have My Name + Blood type + Emergency contact stuck inside mine.
I also have a 'Emergency Contact' in my Phone.

fletch

I wear my work name tag around my neck.

seamus

A new idea comes to my attention every day

Ideally, it would be attached to something which you'd use as a matter of course, such as your helmet or a saddlebag. A wristband is the most visually obvious, but far too easy to forget to wear it because it serves no practical function for your riding.

Vélo

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I came across this site and it seems like a good idea. Basically you wear a wrist band or dog tags with your personal info on it in case you're involved in an accident and people at the scene/emergency responders need to get your info.

There's also a version that has your own pin number on it and a URL - person can then go to that site/phone number, enter your PIN and get your full vital information (blood type, allergies, next of kin contact). All seems very US-centric so I'm not sure how useful it'd be here. Seems like a good idea though - anyone have these or anything like it?

I have one of them. At least I had one of them I couldn't find it recently. It's a good idea to give some details.

Lumen

They can probably work out where I live from my credit cards. I don't have any allergies or relevant medical conditions.

Besides, cycling id = walking helmets.

Planet X

Yep. I have a Road ID for the last few months. About 25 bucks all in incl. postage.
Brilliant.

petethedrummer

Carry your phone? All your contacts are in there.

alfalad

petethedrummer wrote: »

Carry your phone? All your contacts are in there.

Could easily break during your fall!

petethedrummer

alfalad wrote: »

Could easily break during your fall!

True. Though mine seems indestructible.

lukester

Have seen the ads for RoadId, most annoyingly on MapMyRide.

In my opinion, they are a triumph of marketing over common sense.

Highway_To_Hell

After reading about Tunney http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055619190 and that it was the RoadID info that enabled the emergency services to contact his wife I have decided to invest in one.

All my training is done solo and even though when cycling I do carry my phone it is password blocked so contact info would not be available.

Chips Lovell

I just have a note in my back pocket that says: "If found, please return to cycling.boards.ie".

Seriously though, I usually stick my Cycling Ireland License in my pocket with the bank card. Handy since it has my name and address.

Anyone interested in getting their blood type tattooed on their arm?

ED E

AFAIK emergency respomders are trained to check you're wrist for an emergency bracelet. I think you can get "jewlery" ones with the information on the inner surface.

Vélo

If anyone's looking to buy one I have a discount code. You can save a massive $1.

Here it is - ThanksDeclan502472

I think you have to put in the thanksdeclan part also

_sparkie_

i am almost sure i have seen these sort of things in the chemist for a fiver. there are necklaces and bracelets.

Lumen

_sparkie_ wrote: »

i am almost sure i have seen these sort of things in the chemist for a fiver. there are necklaces and bracelets.

42. A gold pendant on a very long, thin chain bearing some form of religious icon is STRONGLY recommended for mountain races.

Perhaps I can get a large pendant of a naked Madonna engraved on the back with my blood type and next of kin?

Vélo

Lumen wrote: »

Perhaps I can get a large pendant of a naked Madonna engraved on the back with my blood type and next of kin?

Have you got any pictures of Madonna naked?

Obviously I'd prefer if they were from a few years ago!!:P

Vélo

found one!!

FrankGrimes

I currently carry my Cycling Ireland card, donor card and a piece of paper with my details on it in a plastic bag in my saddle bag. Wouldn't be too confident of that being found in all circumstances though. Would prefer to have something in a standardly recognised place (that is standardly checked by emergency responders or first aiders). Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be in place in Ireland today.

Don't really see the need to pay for a Road ID if you could whack together a decent alternative yourself. About €20 for dog tags custom engraved and delivered would be reasonable enough though if you were to go with that option. Not mad about the idea of Road ID being for profit - would be terrible if someone went to look up someone's details on their site only to find they had forgotten to renew their subscription and so their details would not be displayed.

Think I'll talk to a web developer mate and see if he'd be interested in whipping a site together to make this free/token cost recovery fee to Irish users. People could then simply write the URL and their pin anywhere they want (donor card, wallet, helmet, sticker on bike, whatever) and you might find hillwalkers and others involved in outdoor activities take an interest too. Before I do that though - does anyone know of something similar (and not-for-profit) already in place in Ireland or accessible to users in Ireland?

Vélo

I just went for the wristband with my name address and a couple of emergency numbers.

I don't know my blood group, I would have put that on also. When I find out I 'll get another one done up.

kenmc

I wear an SOS talisman bracelet all the time anyway, since I'm allergic to penicillin; doctors spot it as a matter of course, even when just out socializing. It has contact details, blood groups, next of kin, allergy stuff etc all inside.

irishmotorist

I have my Blackberry with me at all times and that has my name/work address on the front screen. I also always have a laser/atm card with me in case of being stuck somewhere and peckish, so that makes me identifiable, and, more importantly, pretty much guaranteed not hungry :rolleyes:

rflynnr

There is the notion of ICE numbers ("In Case of Emergency") which various branches of the emergency services are trying to promote. The idea is to put your next of kin's contact details under the name "ICE" in your mobile phone so that in the event of an accident there's a generic location for contact details. Adding an address shouldn't be too difficult.

rflynnr

irishmotorist wrote: »

I also always have a laser/atm card with me in case of being stuck somewhere and peckish, so that makes me identifiable, and, more importantly, pretty much guaranteed not hungry :rolleyes:

Don't count on the hunger bit. I was out in Wicklow a few ago sans cash but with Laser card. I could have sworn there was an ATM in Laragh but when we got there it turned out to be a phone credit machine. Were it not for the largesse of Lumen, my day might have proved pretty uncomfortable.

Esroh

I can stick Contact Phone No. and Blood type on a Bone shape that you can hang on the Zip of the saddle bag with a split ring if any on feels the need. ;-D

kenmc

Have to say that if I came across an accident, I don't know if I'd think to look in a saddle bag for anyones' ID details - especially if it was Joe Noncyclist that would discover it. Pockets for sure, also a necklace type thing, but quite often the bike and rider become seperated quickly - I know when my girlf had her crash a while back her bike was picked up off the road and stood against a wall.

alfalad

rflynnr wrote: »

There is the notion of ICE numbers ("In Case of Emergency") which various branches of the emergency services are trying to promote. The idea is to put your next of kin's contact details under the name "ICE" in your mobile phone so that in the event of an accident there's a generic location for contact details. Adding an address shouldn't be too difficult.

I have heard of that and done it, but again with the bike more so than the car i'd worry about it breaking!

Also think i will be buying one of these Road ID's!

irishmotorist

rflynnr wrote: »

Don't count on the hunger bit. I was out in Wicklow a few ago sans cash but with Laser card. I could have sworn there was an ATM in Laragh but when we got there it turned out to be a phone credit machine. Were it not for the largesse of Lumen, my day might have proved pretty uncomfortable.

Good point - I was in (I think) the Glendalough Fare one day and got a sambo and cup of tea. Their Laser limit was to spend at least €10 so I ended up taking a few sticks of rock home :pac:

blorg

rflynnr wrote: »

Don't count on the hunger bit. I was out in Wicklow a few ago sans cash but with Laser card. I could have sworn there was an ATM in Laragh but when we got there it turned out to be a phone credit machine. Were it not for the largesse of Lumen, my day might have proved pretty uncomfortable.

Glendalough Fayre take credit/laser cards, I generally pay there with my credit card to avoid carrying change around.

@irishmotorist- haha, I have never managed to spend less than a tenner in that place

Beasty

alfalad wrote: »

I have heard of that and done it, but again with the bike more so than the car i'd worry about it breaking!

Also think i will be buying one of these Road ID's!

When I had my recent accident, I forgot to take my phone with me, and although I had some contact details, my family were on holiday out of the country. Despite being concussed, I somehow managed to give the emergency services my details (including an overseas number on which my wife could be contacted). However it was another 5-6 hours before I finally made contact with anyone (largely because I was pretty much out of it). Hence I am going to make sure I carry full ID details going forward.

Beseenonabike.com (a UK company), has a complete range of safety gear, including the following ID information options:

http://www.beseenonabike.com/shopuk/product_info.php?products_id=357 (wristband); and

http://www.beseenonabike.com/shopuk/product_info.php?products_id=359 (helmet)

Signal_ rabbit

I have a road ID dog tag that I got after a near miss one day. I also have a small tag (the same as the cat tags) details on a bit of paper inside, so at least they know where to send the bike back to anyway!

Traumadoc

Few years ago a cyclist was found in cardiac arrest close the top of a hill, ( I was working in Australia at the time) , by the time he got to us it was a bit too late.
Anyway typical cyclist , no ID/wallet.
Eventually about 6 hours later his wife makes contact. Probably would not make much difference but it would have been easier to contact the relatives.

If you dont want to bring ID, a mobile phone , preferably with an ICE ( In Case of Emergency)number is a good thing to have.

concussion

I always carry my expired drivers licence with NOK details written on it and my donor card in my bag. I don't bother with an ICE number, I just have 'Mum' and 'Dad' saved in my phone. If thats too difficult for someone to find, a quick scan of my SMS inbox will reveal who might be worth contacting.

Lumen

Doh!

Hungrycol

I have a ROADID wrist strap in black with contact details on it. Always wear it on the bike. Hope it never has to be put into use.

Came across an accident in 2007 where a lady cyclist came off gashed her head (no hemmet!) and broke her wrist. Managed to get her sisters contact phone number from her before she went into shock and kept asking "what happened".

ednwireland

Lumen wrote: »

Doh!

its probably what broke his wrist

padlad

got one of these road ids and thus now have a coupon for a whole $1 off

Coupon Number: ThanksPatrick516388

alfalad

padlad wrote: »

got one of these road ids and thus now have a coupon for a whole $1 off

Coupon Number: ThanksPatrick516388

Now you tell me.

I got one yesterday so hence also rec'd the coupon, but it's valid only for 30 days ThanksVincent517314

FrankGrimes

I've now had a chance to talk with the developer/designer lad I know and he' onboard with the idea so we'll be looking into making a not-for-profit version of this service available. A phone should just not be relied on in an accident situation as it could well be damaged (likes of me have pin protection on my phone due to sensitive work info on it).

We see the merchandise as secondary - you should be able to just setup a free account and then just position the PIN number wherever you want - in your wallet, on your donor card, helmet etc. The system would provide a template for printing the details out in various different formats. In addition, the aim would then be to allow the user to order waterproof stickers with their details and website PIN on them. Wrist bands and dog tags may also be available but we feel this approach would give the user more flexibility and ensure that there is a free way of carrying this data with you. Would probably put advertising on the site and put that towards funding the service and lowering the cost of the stickers/wrist bands for the users. Accounts would be published for transparency.

Would look to get an SMS text service going (emergency responder texts your PIN to a certain number and it replies with your contact and medical details as you have set in your profile).

It'll be a while before we get this off the ground as there's plenty of work involved and I'm very busy but we will look to do it. Any volunteers to help with the design or development of the site, supply chain, marketing or anything else would be much appreciated. We would hope that this has a broad reach across a range of outdoor activities.

In particular, our first bit of research will be to confirm no similar not-for-profit service already exists, appreciate any info anyone has on that.

blorg

@Frank- I appreciate the intention but is the PIN/website thing not a bit of a gimmick used by RoadID to sell another service; surely it would be more appropriate just to have all the information on a card/wristband with the person in question?

The volume of information relevant in an emergency situation is surely not so voluminous that it can't fit in small type on something on the person in question. A text service is limited to 160 characters and this can definitely fit on the person.

Emergency responders are unlikely to have the internet handy or even go through all these hoops, surely they just need the essential information printed in front of them (which is primarily going to be allergies, medication, blood type, next of kin.)

FrankGrimes

Yeh the PIN/website might be secondary but in some cases it'll be very relevant and useful. E.g. off top of head I know 2 people with medical histories that are complicated and some additional information could definitely help responders in those cases.

A hospital will always have internet access - part of launching something like this would be to engage early to ensure adoption. But the text message approach would probably be more used than retrieving the details on a website - yes each text is limited to 160 characters, but if your profile might have more than that so it can easily just be sent in 2 or 3 texts with the responder replying with 'More' if they need say to see the second and third names in your contact list for example.

That side of things isn't all that difficult or expensive to develop or run so it's worth it. The primary aim, though, would indeed be to facilitate people wishing to carry this information with them and a variety of formats for doing this would be supported with some examples listed above. Having a standard range of formats and places to position this information then allows you to drive an awareness campaign both to the public and to emergency responders/first aiders on what to look for and where.

If everyone was to use the templates or products available on the site just to carry brief ID and profile info, that would be a great success. If others need even more detail, they can fire ahead and setup their online profile, and so long as responders are made aware of that service, there's some upside in that with very little that I can see by way of downside.

Having a phone in your saddle bag and thinking that has you covered just doesn't cut it so making this really cheap and easy for people can only help across a range of sports (cyclists, runners, hill walkers, watersports etc.). If it took off you could have a situation where every school requires kids heading on a school trip to carry this info with them including a PIN to access their medical profile when needed as opposed to the school trying to manage that.

Lumen

Frank,

Whilst I appreciate what you're trying to do, from the exposure I've had to healthcare/SMS/web application software development I'd avoid like the plague.

The potential liabilities are huge. What happens if the SMS doesn't arrive or the website is down and somebody dies as a result?

You'd need to generate significant revenue just to cover the cost of insurance and/or legal advice. Disclaimers don't have the same legal standing here as they do in the US.

IMO.

FrankGrimes

Lads, you raise genuine concerns that will need to be addressed. However, there is no reason at this stage to believe that these will be insurmountable and I just don't accept that something is not worth attempting because there will be obstacles along the way.

Please do continue to highlight what you see as concerns, issues, risks etc. as the more of those we consider at an earlier stage, the more we will be able to plan to address them one by one.

Hungrycol

@FrankGrimes - would there be any patient/trandmark issues with RoadId in the US?

FrankGrimes

Hungrycol wrote: »

@FrankGrimes - would there be any patient/trandmark issues with RoadId in the US?

That' a good point, thanks. I couldn't answer that definitively at this time, would need the right legal advice, but I would anticipate that by handling it correctly it will be possible to run this in a way that does not conflict with any patents or trademarks, but will ensure to incorporate that into the planning at an early stage.

Genghis

Surely the idea of an identity bracelet is not patented. RoadID will have their brandname trademarked and they may have certain aspects of their wristband design patented, but I couldn't imagine it would be difficult to produce a legit alternative to RoadID.

Caroline_ie

These guys do it to .. and it's sponsired by Big George.