Tpsfoto

Road id comment
My road ID is due for payment for the year tomorrow however I contacted my fire department EMT in the area and they have no clue what it’s about it seems to me that it might be ridiculous to pay the yearly fee …..of course the road ID does have my contact information with a phone number so they could look at it and contact my spouse in case of an accident ………do you guys agree about not paying for the yearly fee?

livedarklions

I had to look this up--so you buy some wrist bands etc. with contact info for relatives which you wear and you pay an annual fee to keep a registration online with the company that makes them?

Just the fact that the EMT had no idea what you are talking about probably gets you some idea of how useful the ongoing registration has been. As long as the info on the item you're wearing is up to date, why would you pay for anything else?

Riveting

I've been wearing a RoadID for ~4 years now (just so my wife's phone number and my medications are easily available to a medic in case I'm unconscious) and I never even knew registering was a thing, and even after reading your explanation I had to look it up myself, and here's what's on their website:

• The Emergency Response System is supported by live operators 24/7/365.
• In an accident, your information can be texted to a first responder instantly, by request.
• You can Activate multiple Interactive IDs to a single Emergency Response Profile.
• Each ID you Activate to your Emergency Response Profile extends your membership for 6 months.

So who's the one contacting RoadID and requesting my info be texted to a first responder? Me? If that's the case I'll just call the First Responder myself, or tell them when they get there. And IF I'm unconscious (or just out of it), how would anyone know to contact RoadID and request my info be texted, it's not like there's a RoadID logo nor a RoadID phone number on my bracelet. And how would RoadID know the phone number of the first responder in order to text them. If the first responder is already there, then they already have my contact and meds info, it's right there on the bracelet. What more could RoadID send? Seems poorly thought out, or I'm just not getting what the value is there.

Tpsfoto

The bracelet just has the contact info …..not all of your medical info….. there is a code on the back of the bracelet which the EMT would contact Road ID give them the code and that code corresponds to me …….it is a complicated system especially if the EMT does not know what road id is and how the bracelet works
The EMT or hospital is the one contacting Road ID about me

Bald Paul

When I was struck by a car a few years back, and ended up in the ER, I mentioned to the attending physician that I was wearing a Road ID (bright green, sort of hard to miss).
His response was "What's that?"

Gyro

The yearly fee is for use of their phone app while riding. I have it on my phone, it shows my location to whoever I have listed in on the app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...crumb.app.paid

Kat12

I think it sounds like one's needs in this arena may be individual. If I crash, I just need somebody to know who they should notify to feed my cat/come pick up the body/whatever (so the standard bracelet/dog tags/card in my wallet/whatever I choose to use, would be fine). If, however, I had some medical issues it would be important for first responders to know about, a service like this might be more important (though in that case, one might be better served by a Medic Alert bracelet, which, AFAIK, is better-known, or, again a card in the wallet which can have the info right there). But, as they say, "when seconds count," is anyone going to be calling a phone number on your bracelet to find out the dirt on you (and hopefully Road ID has enough operators that someone will pick up right away to let the paramedics know about your latex and penicillin allergies rather than leaving them listening to Muzak until 10 minutes after the ambulance has dropped you-- or your anaphylaxis-riddled corpse-- at the hospital)?

Iride01 

I doubt first responders are going to be concerned about anything on the bracelet. They will be too busy dealing with you and the first aid needed. Any allergies or medical conditions you have probably aren't going to be play a big part in their decisions as to what to do for you when you wrecked on your bike. They'll be looking for broken bones and signs of a concussion and other stuff to get you into the ambulance and too the nearest suitable hospital.

The bike probably will be left at the scene of the accident. If you left your wallet at home or put it in your bike bag then no one will know who you are. So then the hospital will be very glad to find that bracelet on you and probably they will be interested in the information on file with Road ID.

DangerousDanR

I spent 10 years as a firefighter / medic. If a patient was unconscious the last thing I would want to do is to try and contact someone to get a bunch of information that is of limited value in the field.

Airway, breathing, circulation, deficits, ...there are important things to worry about. Your name and address can wait. Calling your family can wait.

I need to stabilize the spine, then get an airway protection device and oxygen in place. Then get IV access. Then stop the bleeding if I can.
And in a rural location I might not even have cell phone access. Or I might be spending my bandwidth calling in a helicopter or ground ambulance.

The only times I can remember calling our
medical advisor, the ER doctor on duty, was to get permission to discontinue treatment and call the patient dead in the field.

The ER may want to contact your family, but not the medic in the field. I would probably look at the bracelet when I cut it off, and I would put it in the bag that I put your stuff like your helmet, wallet, and clothes. The ER might like it and it might make their job faster and easier, but not the EMT.

work4bike

I wear my Dog Tag from my military service

blacknbluebikes 

Lots of angles on this, but I've been riding with a RoadID bracelet for a long time. It has my name & address, two contacts to call and " O+ / NKA " written on it. If I get to the ER and need a transfusion, that might be useful. I don't necessarily expect a first responder to care, but if I'm unresponsive, someone at the hospital can act on this info. Cheap insurance for having that info available in a bad situation.

sarhog

It Is my understanding (in the US at least) that the ER will quickly test your blood for blood type and ignore other indicators (such as a bracelet, or dog tags) of what your blood type may be.

making

This is true. I look at my road ID more like dog tags. Just sayin. It might be good for severe allergies.

MixedRider

On solo rides I wear a RoadID I got a long time ago. It has my name and three contact numbers on it. I don't think it is warranted to pay a yearly service for a company to maintain your insurance and health info. But i have a confidence that after the initial emergency situation, maybe someone at the hospital will notice my RoadID and call the numbers on it. Insurance and costs can all be worked out after the initial incident. Most important is for the hospital or first responder to know my name and call my contact numbers.

If i had no friends or family, maybe it would be a different situation.

GhostRider62

I recently had a pretty serious crash resulting in a trip to the local ER and then transfer to the Level 1 trauma center. I did not show an ID or insurance card. They did all that at checkout couple days later. Based upon my observation of their process, they would not have cared if I had had a Road ID because they are doing everything themselves soup to nuts.

making

I was always worried about being in the hospital with my family searching all my trails and riding routes for me. I just wear Road ID so someone can call my wife.

GhostRider62

Do you carry a phone? Or have any form of ID with you?

If I was unconscious, someone could have called her using my phone. As it was, I called my wife and she drove me to the ER. It would have taken 60-90 minutes to get EMT transport, so, I elected to call her. I guess I never saw the point of RoadId and still don't

making

When I run I am pretty much a minimalist, so no, I never had a phone or ID. What I do nowdays I cannot call running so I do usually have my phone and ID on me. Road ID is just a habit now.

DangerousDanR

I ride with "Cyclemeter", and even as cheap as I am I have the paid version for about $10 a year.

The app keeps my wife up to date on my location and speed. And it keeps the phone open and unlocked so if I do get put inside "the bus" in a non-responsive state, when we get to the ER they will see "ICE Mrs. Dan wife" in my contact list and I hope that they can figure it out from there

livedarklions

"Why are we icing his wife?"

I think google maps can now do that location sharing but I've never used it for that.

genec

My old Dog Tag had nothing more than my name, SSN, blood type and religion... not a whole lot of "contact" information there.

I actually ordered new Dog Tags (as I like to swim in the open ocean) with real contact info on them. No doubt that won't matter at the time of first response, but will, later.

work4bike

I'll either walk away or I'll die...that's the plan.

Tell my mama I did my best...

Iride01 

But what if you don't do either?

What if because you don't get help soon enough you are just a brain damaged useless thing your family has to care for?

Not that an ID tag is going to give you help any quicker. But sharing your location with google maps or other apps might. I ride solo quite a bit in not so busy areas where it might be 20 or 30 minutes before any other passes. Sometimes no one all day. My wife has my location on several different apps that track me for her. Also, there are two different apps that will alert her and others on my list if the apps think I crashed.

It makes the both of us feel a little better that when I'm out in the middle of no where that even if I'm unconscious, help might be on the way to my exact location.

livedarklions

I think the biggest safety feature you got going there is a wife (and others) who will actually pay attention to your location. Those aren't standard issue.

gpburdell

Phones get smashed, or thrown clear and not collected with your personal belongings.

ID won't tell them your spouse's or (adult) children's cell numbers so they can be reached when nobody's at home

Of course you don't need some online service with subscription costs to do this either; that's the key info you have on the roadID itself whether or not you do the additional stuff.