Published on Tuesday, October 17, 2006
in the Stuart News

Put emergency contacts on your driver license

This is Trooper Smith. Your loved one is seriously hurt. Please come to the hospital quickly.

Notifying family so they can be there — in the worst case, to say goodbye — is a top concern for law enforcement at the scene of a major crash. That call might come quicker now that a new state initiative lets motorists add two emergency contacts to their driver license records.

Troopers, deputies and police can access the information in an instant by looking up a license number.

"The reason that's important is because if you're in an accident or if something happens to you, we depend on those pieces of information to notify someone something has happened to you," said Lt. Tim Frith, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol covering the Treasure Coast.

The information can be added online or at a local driver license office. The information goes into a secure database only law enforcement officials can access, officials said.

As of last week, more than 77,600 people statewide had signed up since the program began on Oct. 2. The program was also gaining support among Treasure Coast deputies, many of whom were just learning about the program.

In connection with the emergency contact effort, state officials are encouraging parents to get identification cards for their children.

A new law allows anyone 5 years and older to obtain a state card. The idea is that parents would add the same emergency contact information to their child's card as on their own driver license.

The emergency database was born from tragedy on Florida's West Coast in December 2005.

Tiffany Olson, 22, and her boyfriend Dustin Wilder were heading to St. Petersburg on his motorcycle when they were hit by a car, according to the family's Web site.

They were both killed in the crash.

Olson's mother Christine and Wilder's family faced confusion and delays in being notified by law enforcement or even finding the right hospital. The young girl remained separated from her family from the time she died until she was taken to the medical examiner's office.

In less than a year, Christine Olson worked through her state legislator, Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, to create the system.

"Time is crucial. There is no time to waste," Christine Olson said in a statement on the Web site. "No one should have to go through this. Parents want to be with their child if they're hurt and no child, or anyone for that matter, should have to die alone."

A similar scenario could happen on the Treasure Coast.

"It's going to help law enforcement not just in crashes but in so many different ways," said Deputy Jeff Luther of the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. "It's one of the best things around as far as I'm concerned."

He said a doctor at a hospital might need to contact the parents of a seriously injured child.

The FHP's Frith said the new effort could also be used to notify parents when young drivers get into trouble or for law enforcement purposes.

HOW TO SIGN UP

• Go online at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Web site: www.flhsmv.gov .
• Click on the "Emergency Contact Information."
• Enter your driver license number and date of birth.
• Enter your contacts' name, address and phone numbers for home, work and a cell.
• The same process can be done at a local driver license office.