ID tags

[DeniseGoldberg]

Andi, take a look at MedicAlert (http://www.medicalert.com/)....

On the back of the bracelet, it has my major conditions I have now or that can affect treatment (diabetes, hypertension and stroke). There is also a toll free phone number and your MedicAlert ID number. By calling that phone number and giving the operator (staffed 24 hours a day) your MedicAlert ID the EMT/hospital can get your doctor's info, medication, etc.

Melody has some really good points here. I'm one of the people without medical conditions (or medication) that require the type of support that MedicAlert supplies, but I do have a lot of information on my RoadID. I use both sides of the id so that I can have health-related information available as well as emergency contact info. So although there is less relevant information than in Melody's case, it's all on me.

It seems - based on the entries in this thread - that many folks are carrying emergency contact info and health insurance info but are leaving out other important information that emergency health care personnel want to have (like your age, the fact that you do or don't have allergies, perhaps your doctor's name & phone number).

In addition, I don't believe that stashing this type of information in a seat bag is a good idea - much better to have it on your person. Why? Well when I had my accident back in 2004, the seat bag stayed attached to the bike, and the bike went to the State Police office. It didn't stay with me. If my id had been in the seat bag, would the EMT's have gone rummaging there to find it? I don't know.

OK, I'll try to get off of my soapbox now. Thanks for listening to something I feel very strongly about (you figured that out, didn't you?).

--- Denise

[Brandi]

Hmmmm? That is a good point. But your age changes so are you suggesting your birth date. And i agree with the not keeping it in a bag on your bike but, it is easy to forget when you just want to go out for a quick ride. I put my husbands cell ,home and my other best friends number on my id. I am not allergic or I would have put that on it too. and the town I live in. The dr name or number is a great idea too. Where were you denise when I was filling out the form?

[DeniseGoldberg]

Hmmmm? But your age changes so are you suggesting your birth date.

I have just my year of birth. So the id says YOB followed by the 4-digit year. And if you want to change your order - call RoadID. They usually give you overnight to change it, but depending on when you placed your order you may already be beyond that point. Next time, maybe.

On the allergies front - I don't have any either. But when I asked about what should go on the ID, the folks at RoadID recommended including that I didn't have any allergies.

In fact, for anyone else who is thinking of ordering an id (whether from RoadID or somewhere else), RoadID does have some suggestions for information that is important to have in the case of an accident or emergency. I can't link directly to that page because it is a pop-up, but if you go to http://www.roadid.com/id.asp then click the Sample Text button you can see a list of info that would be useful.

And although the RoadID web site does not make it obvious, if you call them to order your ID (instead of ordering over the web) you can get information placed on both sides of your id. That's how I was able to put so much info in such a small space.

Oh, and on the forgetting it front? I have my ID sitting in a very obvious spot. I think I've only headed out without it once and I've been wearing it when I ride since the middle of 2004, and as soon as I realized that I went home to get it (luckily I was only a short distance from the house). It can become a habit fairly quickly.

--- Denise