FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 23, 2008

THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES
APPLAUDS FLORIDA DRIVER LICENSE AND ID HOLDERS FOR TAKING
PART IN THE EMERGENCY CONTACT SYSTEM!

TALLAHASSEE-- Today the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is proud to announce a milestone for Florida’s Emergency Contact Information System (ECI). One million people have made the critical decision to submit their emergency contact information to the Department. The information is available only to law enforcement and is an important tool for law enforcement to contact or notify your designated contact in the unfortunate event that an emergency occurs.

This nationally recognized program was initiated after the untimely death of 22 year old Tiffiany Olson in a 2005 traffic crash. Because law enforcement did not have access to the proper address for Tiffiany’s mother, Christine Olson, it took several hours for her to be notified of her daughter’s death. Ms. Olsen did not want other families to have to go through this tragedy and so she contacted her state legislator, Representative Bill Galvano, who worked with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to create the ECI and make it available to all law enforcement.

“This is a great example of turning tragedy into triumph and I commend both Representative Galvano and Ms. Christine Olson for their foresight for bringing this program to the Department. It’s also a great example of state agencies working together to keep our citizens safe and is an easy and secure way for our citizens to provide valuable information for their own peace of mind,” said Executive Director Electra Bustle.

“We wanted to create a system that was easy to use and valuable to our State’s driver license and identification card holders. Although Florida law allows individuals who change their address 10 days to notify the Department, many people take longer and if an emergency situation arises, law enforcement only has the inaccurate address to depend upon. The ECI system has accurate contact information for law enforcement when time is of the essence and loved ones need to know,” said Director of the Division of Driver Licenses Sandra Lambert.

Floridians with a driver’s license or ID card are encouraged to voluntarily provide emergency contact information using the Department’s website at www.flhsmv.gov.

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