A few weeks ago, the local news was reporting the story of a young woman who went out for a morning jog and got hit by a bus while in a crosswalk. The woman was not carrying identification or a phone and was unconscious. They were reporting her general stats (height, weight, age, hair color) in the hopes that someone would identify her. Thankfully, that afternoon, her co-workers put two and two together and rushed to the hospital with photos of her and confirmed her identity. She is still in the hospital, I believe, but doing well, and once she was identified, her family was notified.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from this, but one big one is that you should always carry some form of identification. And not only if you're a runner or a cyclist. Unfortunately, you never know what might happen. You could be struck by an errant bus, you could trip and hit your head, or you could collapse unexpectedly. Of course, you can't live your life expecting something bad to happen, but you can take a few steps to make sure that if one of these things happen, that the proper people are notified and the hospitals have the information they need.
First off, always carry ID. You can also create an "in case of emergency" card and keep that in your wallet. That assumes that someone will go through your wallet to find someone to notify. Another good option is to create "ICE" contacts in your cell phone. These are people that will be called In Case of Emergency. My phone actually prompts me to set three contacts in my phone as ICE contacts.
And if you're a runner or a biker, you can do all these things, but another option is to wear identification on your person somewhere - wristbands, anklebands, and shoe tags are very popular. I have seen a number of companies offering these, but for years, I have used RoadID. RoadID makes a number of identification options. The version I use has my name and city as well as some contact information. I wear it on a wrist band every single time I run. But I just purchased their newest tag. This is an interactive version. Rather than simply providing the information on the face of the tag, it provides directions to call a phone number or visit the RoadID website to get more information. This interactive version lets me input more contacts, as well as any pertinent medical information. Best of all, I can edit it at any time.
RoadID isn't giving me any money for this review. I just really like their products that much. Thankfully, I can't provide a testimonial like those on the website. I've never needed my RoadID to identify me when I was unable to speak for myself.
I have a friend who has RoadID bracelets for each of her kids when they go to theme parks. On the off chance her child wanders off, the tag has the child's name as well as cell phone numbers for the parents. The print is small enough that it can't be seen by a passerby (who might use the child's name to try to lure the child away), but can easily be read by someone trying to help the child find their parents.
Because I just ordered a RoadID, I have a coupon to pass along. It's good for $1 off any RoadID order placed by 10/24/09. Just enter "ThanksMegan545946" (without the quotes) when you checkout. Again, I get nothing for your use of this coupon. It's just a good way to get the word out about this great product.