ID for Riding?

[HoosierGiant]

Another Road ID user.

Finish a ride, strap it to my bars, impossible to forget the next time out.

[NoNo]

I picked up the ankle style Road ID and I don't even know it's there. I also like knowing that the reflector on my leg going up and down makes me that much more noticeable. One thing: when I crashed last month I handed the woman in the ER my ID. While I had my insurance number on it, I'd forgotten to put our group number on as well, which apparently she needed. Had to call work and have HR fax a copy of my insurance card over. Just something to think about if you're ordering one.

[OakLeaf]

I have a Road ID also--mine is the dog-tag one so I can just tuck it inside my shirt and it's unobtrusive. The wrist or ankle one would have bugged me, I think.

I just tried on an ankle one at the running shoe store, and it's VERY unobtrusive. I didn't even know it was there. I don't like anything on my wrists, either.

But I'm concerned about identity theft with anything that you send away for, with that much personal information. Unlike credit card identity theft, the legal protections for health care identity theft are pretty minimal, and more importantly you may not find out about it until much too late. If you're going to wear a dog tag, why not just get one of the ones you make yourself in the store for $5? (If you don't mind it being shaped like a bone or a heart )

[TrekTheKaty]

I wear a roadID that goes in your shoelaces. Don't have to worry about forgetting it. If you go to their website and read the testimonials, you will buy one for every member of your family. Some guy was hit by a car and was unconscious. It was 24 hrs before they could identify him and notify his family (and they didn't have his medical history).

[Misandal]

Another one with RoadID - I have the dog tag version. Every time I get on the bike, I'm wearing it. As you all have said, it's mostly so they could contact my DH in the event I could not.

Also, my dad is a first-responder and he said they're checking cell phones of unconscious people for this entry: ICE (in case of emergency) so they know who to call/notify. That's another thought if you carry your phone when you ride.

[kie_fujo]

i generally carry a messenger bag with my id in it, but now i'm tempted to get one of these road id's!!

[kermit]

Road ID is a must. I have the bracelet version. I keep it on my helmet so when that goes on so does the bracelet. I also wear it running, just in case that rogue car veers off the road and wipes me out. (These things happen to me, trust me). We have had some spectacular bike vs car accidents down here and I know that any rescue guy will be thrilled to know if you have any medical issues by a bracelet and who you are, etc.

[Grog]

I have a dog tag but wish I had a bracelet. My husband and my father-in-law have been outfitted with wrist RoadIDs.

I know at least two people who were rolled into the ER as "Joe Doe" and "Jane Doe." That sucks. It means that these people's relatives and friends had to look for them by calling the police and all the local hospitals, giving the description of their loved one. In the case of "Jane Doe" it's a resident of the college where I used to live: after three days without seeing her, we had to get the police to open her room, and not seeing her there, calls had to be made. She was eventually found at a not-so-near hospital with a head injury she got skiing. For three days she was pretty much alone there and that must have been scary.

And remember that if you head is banged up, your cell phone probably will be too.

[ilima]

isn't ID and contact info more in the category of "handy to contact family afterwards?"

Something could happen where you're unconscious or not thinking straight, but you're not dead.

With regard to insurance--I would want the hospital to know that I am fully insured because--believe it or not, it's how the USA operates--the hospital will treat you differently if it knows it's going to get reimbursed.

Emergency rooms/hospitals are required by law to treat someone that presents him/herself. However, it's only bare minimal keep alive care that is required by law. An indigent isn't going to get aggressive treatment. That's the brutal reality right now.

[Jolt]

ID in a seat bag or pocket can be helpful, but I've heard that EMTs won't go through your stuff looking for ID. (Can anyone confirm or deny this?) Better to wear the ID where it can't be missed (wrists or neck) IMO. The insurance card and driver's license are good backup though, and I carry copies of both in my seatbag.

Well, I think the big thing is that if you're in that bad of shape, looking for ID will not be high on the priority list--they will be concerned with stabilizing you and getting your butt to the hospital for definitive treatment. So it's quite likely that they won't go through your stuff looking for it. When I was a volunteer EMT I didn't have any calls where the patient was unconscious with nobody to speak for them, so I never personally encountered that situation, but if I did I sure wouldn't be thinking about digging around for ID.

[Kalidurga]

Well, I think the big thing is that if you're in that bad of shape, looking for ID will not be high on the priority list--they will be concerned with stabilizing you and getting your butt to the hospital for definitive treatment. So it's quite likely that they won't go through your stuff looking for it. When I was a volunteer EMT I didn't have any calls where the patient was unconscious with nobody to speak for them, so I never personally encountered that situation, but if I did I sure wouldn't be thinking about digging around for ID.

If I remember correctly, that's one of the points made at the RoadID website. They also mention that an EMT isn't going to take the time to look in the phone book for a number to call if all you've got on you is a driver's license. That's what impressed me so much about RoadID-- the information at the website is very clear regarding what sort of information will really be helpful to an EMT or police officer, and what sorts of abbreviations can be used to fit the info on your id.

[ny biker]

I have the bracelet RoadID and wear it every time I ride. It's perfectly comfortable. I have it to avoid the Jane Doe scenario as well as listing medical info (asthma and allergic to penicillin).

I also have a couple of ICE entries in my cell phone, and I have a small wallet in my bike bag with my drivers license, insurance card, credit card and some cash.

[mayanorange]

My SIL sent me the RoadID website and I immediately thought of this tag that is a hit with the furballs:
www.collartags.com
Those DIYers out there or those with reflective ankle bands already can just get the tag and attach to whatever.

[Jiffer]

I have a Road ID that I don't wear. I stick it in my bike bag. But I always have my phone in the back pocket of my jersey. All anyone has to do is call one of the top names on my "favorites" page. I think nurses, etc. are used to doing that sort of thing.

I have heard (on this site, I think) that medical people look for contacts on your phone that say ICE ... for "In Case of Emergency". I used to have an ICE1 contact my husband's number and an ICE2 contact with my home number. But then, every time my husband would call me, my phone said ICE1 instead of his name! So, I deleted my ICE numbers.

[Flur]

Don't count on your phone. I just lost my phone this morning - it fell out of my partially unzipped bike bag on to the trail. It's now completely dead from the impact, no screen images, nothing. If I'd gone down and I was depending on my phone to give my info, I'd be in a lot of trouble.