Published on Thursday, November 2, 2006
in the Tallahassee Democrat

State offers online emergency-contact information update

It's the worst nightmare for many of us: a loved one has an accident and law enforcement doesn't know how to contact you.

A new emergency-contact database through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Web site now allows you to register two names with three phone numbers that first-responders can access from around the state. And since Oct. 1, kids 5 and older are eligible to get a state identification card and register their emergency-contact information, too. Before, children had to be 12.

At Friday's Downtown GetDown, parents will be able to get an ID card for their children if they bring an original or certified copy of their birth certificate and a second form of identification, such as a Social Security card. Hancock Bank will pay for the first 100 cards, which cost $3 each. The Florida Licensing on Wheels mobile will be stationed at the corner of Adams Street and College Avenue.

When there is an accident, it often takes law enforcement longer to contact next of kin because people do not update their addresses on their driver's licenses or do not update the address listed on their vehicle registration, Maj. Ernie Duarte of the Florida Highway Patrol said.

In less than a month, the Web site has had more than 300 registered users and thousands of hits.

To update your emergency-contact information online, go to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Web site at www.flhsmv.gov and click on 'emergency contact information.'