My husband crashed one day- knocked out with concussion, nerve damage etc. The ER had to wait until he woke up 2 hrs later so that they could get my contact information from him to call me. He had ID in his under the seat litte kit, but he was thrown from the bike and the fire dept took his bike one place and the ambulance took him to the hospital. So, if he had the ID on him, I would have been notified sooner. Also, he was wearing a camel back so they had to cut that off of him including his jersery so I would recommend wearing your ID on your person- not just stuffing it in your pocket, taping to your helment etc. It doesn't prevent you from crashing, but he can help expedite contact- I bought 2, one for each of us. And, yes you could just make a name tag, laminate it, hot glue it to a wristband, necklace etc.

So many people have chimed in on this, I probably don't need to reiterate what's already been said, but I will anyway.

I have a Road ID - a couple actually. I think the investment (compared to everything else I spend in this sport) is pretty minimal and it brings peace-of-mind.

Is it the be-all and end-all? No. Is it the only method of identifying you or conveying important information? No. However, it is one method of doing that and a valid one at that. The bracelets are pretty hearty and, I feel, are more likely to survive a crash than a cell phone. That being said, I also have ICE in my phone - just in case. I also like Chip's ideas about putting info on his helmet and bike. Are they going to definitely be transported to hospital? No. But they might be, and anything that contributes to the identification and communication of salient information can't hurt your chances for better treatment. Plus, maybe you'll get the bike back after the police use if for evidence and you can salvage some components...

This was my reasoning for getting a Road ID:

1. I can put my blood-type on it. I may or may not be blood-typed - likely yes in Canada or US, but just in case, good to have it there.
2. I put that I don't have any drug allergies. If there is one drug that's going to help more than another, I don't want EMS trying to guess if I'm allergic. In the same vein, if I did have an allergy, I would want it prominently displayed.
3. I put my wife's contact info on the bracelet. If I'm unconscious, can't talk, or can't remember who I am, it can at least tell EMS who to contact.
4. I use the interactive version so I can update health insurance information when I travel out of the province.
5. When I travel, I can put my accommodation information into my profile. It would be no good to call my wife at home if she's with me on vacation.
6. My doctor's info is in my profile, so the hospital can get my medical information.

All of this information can be conveyed using other methods; however,*I* like the way RoadID does it. You just have to decide what's works for you. And by 'you', I mean anyone reading, not just the dissenters.

FYI - I also carry my health card when I run or ride, put lights on my bike night and day, and run with a head-lamp and flashing lights at night. I hear to many stories about serious 'accidents' to not take some simple precautions. As they say, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'.

If this thread has inspired one person to change their habits and carry identification (RoadID or otherwise), I will be happy. There are far too many 'accidents' these days and, as Jordan said, the inanimate object won't save your life, but it can give information that might and let people who care about you know what happened.

Like many others have said, the Road ID isn't really intended to save your life. It's designed to give medical professionals attending to you in the event of an accident some information about medical conditions you may have and/or your emergency contact information.

I'm married with kids and I wear one because I'd like my wife to be notified if something happens to me, and I'm not able to speak for myself. I don't have any significant known medical problems and I'm not sure I'd expect EMTs or ER personnel to rely on that if it's on my Road ID anyways. But I suspect they would use the contact information for my wife on the tag. The ID is in an obvious location where the EMTs/ER personnel should be able to find it very easily.

I wear the dog tag kind and it has just become second nature to put it on when I go riding. I keep it in the case with my glasses, which I keep in my helmet, so I never forget to wear it. I've taken some falls over the years, a couple big crashes, and I've never had my Road ID come off, or even get scuffed. I have however had my cell phone obliterated in two of these crashes.

On a related note, a friend of mine from college went out for a run one day just before dinner. Nobody really realized until much later that night, when we were getting ready to go out, that we realized we couldn't find him. Some frantic searching for a couple of hours and a phone call to the police ultimately gave us the devastating news. He had died of an aneurysm while out running. With no ID, the hospital/police were not able to ID him. Carrying an ID, such as the road ID, wouldn't have saved his life, but wouldn't have given the hospital/police a name and contact number for him.

As others have said, buy one or don't, nobody is forcing you.

I have some other points of view that I am surprised have not been brought up.

1.) Who carries id with them while doing open water swims? I never have and there is nothing linking me to my car in the parking lot on me either. In the summer lots of people go to ceasars creek to practice open water. Its safe in that im not alone in the water but on a given saturday I could know a ton of people or no one at all.

2.) I do a majority of my running on the bike paths in downtown dayton. I would say I feel 90% safe on them but some of the paths are pretty secluded and it would be really easy for somebody to be hiding in the trees and jump me from behind. Most of the time i just run in shorts that have no pockets with my phone on my arm. Im sure if I got mugged and beaten up that they would leave my iphone so that EMT's could call my wife.

Lastly and I really dont intend this to sound mean but Im guessing you are just not at a point in your life where people are depending on you for much of anything. If I go out for a run at lunch and get mugged or hit by a car my job has an expectation that I am coming back and there are responsibilities there that I am obligated to the best of my ability to keep or notify them of my inability to do so. The same goes with the family. I have a 4 year old daughter. If I am again out training during lunch and end up in an ER and unidentifiable for some period of time. Does my injury negate that my daughter needs to be picked up from school? Perhaps my wife and daughter should spend a few hours wondering if im dead while they call the police department and local hospitals trying to find me.

3.) When I was hit by a car I was too young to have a cell phone but looking back at the impact and where I keep my phone when I ride I can say pretty confidently it would not have made it through.

As adults our lives are defined by routines and responsibilities and to just drop off the grid with no notice is just flat out rude and inconsiderate to the people you love and who love you.

Jon please dont think that I am saying if im sitting in the er im going to be wondering if my job is getting done. HELL NO! If I've got wires and tubes hanging out of me I could give a crap if the internet is running but it also doesnt mean the world stops when I do.

Will road ID save your life or is it catchy marketing. I think that is really a case by case basis. I do know that in my scenarios and many of the ones listed already the Road ID helps to make the rest of your life aware of the severity of your situation and helps me to fullfill my obligations to my work and family while getting the people that I want with me to help make tough decisions there as fast as possible.

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God's in his heaven, alls right with the world -Nerv

Here is a story of a local runner who got hit by a car with no ID. She was unidentified for 30 hours before a smart nurse took it on herself and traced her ipod to apple and got her name.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/...21119845/detail.html

I wear a road ID because:
1) I want the er to know who I am
2) I want the er to call my wife
3) I want the er to know I am allergic to certain drugs

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I suspect it does not make sense to you now as you are probably in a different stage of life than the target consumer (by your 'mom' comment I'm guess you're a young person and unmarried).
The Road ID may not do much to improve your chances of avoiding an accident or being treated faster but it does give you some peace of mind that loved ones will not be worying about you should something happen.

I travel a great deal for my work. I run in different cities all the time. Sometimes I'll rent a bike and go for a 100km ride. It makes me feel a bit better that if I were hit by a bus and end up in a come in a far away place my wife would not have wait for days worrying about me. At this stage of my life $20 is a negligable ammount to pay for that peace of mind.

Here's a pick of me wearing my road id and yes, I believe it did save my life... (certainly improved the food!)

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Keep moving forward, just keep moving forward...

~~ I am no longer broken... ~~

Late to the party, but here's my take: my wife bought me one, my wife supports me in my training efforts, the least I can do to pay her back for her support is wear it since it comforts her.

Also: regarding locked phones mentioned above: my phone (blackberry) allows you to set a text to display when the phone locks. I've set it basically show the same as my road ID.

Finally: The discussion up to now focussed on cycling. I've come closer to being hit while running than while riding, and a road ID is much more convenient than a big wallet with stuff in that case.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

My wife has some severe allergies to some antibiotics and I'm type 1 diabetic. We have that information on our ID's, we felt that was worth $40. If you don't have anything of that nature, it won't help the emts or hospitals that much.

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Running is a gift.

I wear mine OW swimming. I also leave it with my gear on the pool deck. That way if anything ever happened on the pool, there'd be some identifying info close by. I'm not sure I'd want to leave my gov't issue photo id on deck. Of course, a laminated card, etc. works just as well in that case, but of course, that's not quite as convenient for OW swimming. I also wear mine at the gym. It's easy to wear, and I don't need something with pockets.

Could you fabricate something approximately as readable, durable, etc. for cheaper? Probably. But my time is worth something. Even the idea of writing something down, driving to Kinkos, laminating it, etc. is worth $20 to me.

Bottom line - you should have ID and ICE contact info on you at all times. RoadID makes that easy and convenient. I don't get why people are bashing it for what it doesn't do - "it's not OnStar." It's cheap; it's easy; and it's effective. It does one job - provides ID & ICE info - and does it well. If you don't want one, don't buy one. If you want to make one, great.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Ok, I'm an ER doc, I think wearing a roadID or similar is probably a good idea. From my experience, the people we can't ID easily are people who live alone and come in altered or people who are in traumas and come in altered (mental status that is.) It can be hard to ID these people, a roadID would help.

Keeping your ID on your person, not in your helmet or saddle bag is a good idea. A lot of the time the EMTs will bring the helmet, a lot of the time they won't. Your bike and saddlebag won't ever make it.

In traumas, most docs take a history known as an "AMPLE" history, an abbreviated version of a complete med history. It includes:

A: Allergies
M: Meds (esp. stuff like blood thinners)
P: Major past med history
L: Last oral intake
E: Events surrounding trauma

We get 'E' from the EMTs, as best they can piece together
'A' 'M' 'P' would be good stuff to put on an ID
'L'- I'll just assume your stomach is full of infinit at about 280 cal/hr:)

I don't think blood type is all that useful to put on an ID. If you need blood "now" you'll get uncrossmatched type O blood. If you need it later, it will be crossed by the lab. I don't think any EP or trauma surgeon would trust a road ID for the blood type.

Hope this is useful...just my $0.02

http://gundogsupply.com/exidplatwitr.html

When I got my dog's ID I also got one for myself.. nice brass plate riveted on to a small dog collar worn as a bracelet..

I'll add in my $.02 on why I wear a RoadID:

Its so they have a name to go with the body, and to make the job of finding who to ID the body a little easier.

As for cost - I think mine was $10 after the coupons I had for it (they hand them out at races). My husband's was free (another coupon at a race.) Yeah, the strap gets nasty, but you can remove the tag and put the strap in the wash with all of your other cycling clothing (which has probably gotten nasty too), or just buy a replacement strap for a few bucks.

'Course, I may be OK with shelling out a few bucks for an ID because I do not have the Starbucks Cappuccino addiction some other poster talked about.

For me, I wear my ID running and biking, especially when alone. I do not frequently carry my drivers license when I run (there just aren't spots in my tight clothing to stick it), but I do when I bike. However, it is in my saddle bag. If I am separated from my bike, which may very well happen, it won't do any good. I've tried carrying it in my back pockets, but I prefer to have my nutrition in there. Same with my cell phone. I have tried it back there, but its too weighty. The cell phone is usually in the bento box or saddle bag. And as for breaking on impact - my husband has killed a couple in his day. Plus, he keeps his locked, so it would do the ER folks no good even if it made it there with him, in one piece.

Lastly - I'm a chick. Chicks are trendy. I like trendy things. And if I want to shell out $20 for something trendy, so be it. Before you flame this comment though, check where you're standing. There is a chance that I make more than you, and I may have more saved in my 401k, IRA, stocks/funds, liquid savings, "rainy day fund," and checking account than you. In other words, I can afford it, so you can skip your accusations about my actions being the cause of the crumbling American economy.

It's twenty freaking bucks, I bought mine 4 or so years ago and still wear it. The $ argument is a red herring. I'd be interested in hearing what various unnecessary tri bullshit jon h buys each year (because we all do).

Thank you for confirming what I said.


In any case, you save a life first, ID later.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

LOL. k.

I wonder if you haven't spent much time in Dr's offices or in the hospital...

I truly hope you haven't. I have, and they ALWAYS ask if you are allergic to any form of medication. Most people have some reaction to some medication. I know a few people that have been given antibiotics while they were under that didn't agree with their system and they almost died. Also, if you need blood, like Rapp most certainly did, they must know your blood type.

They crossmatched me, and they ALWAYS will (or give O Neg), at least in the US.

In my case, my wife actually called the police in advance of anyone every calling her. The police did eventually call her from my phone, but she already knew I was in an accident at that point. I was riding later in the day, and she knew when I should have gotten home. Once I was 45min late without calling, she called the police. They called back within 5min with information. The hospital/EMTs never checked my RoadID, simply because I was so critical.

I was also very healthy - no allergies, no past medical history, etc., so there was nothing on my ID *at that time* that was critical for the EMTs to know. My wife knew ASAP that I was in an accident, but there were a lot of things that contributed to that:
- she was at home and knew I was out riding
- I was on a short ride and she knew it was supposed to be short
- it was late in the day and she knew I wouldn't ride when it was dark, so when it got dark, she was worried. It also got dark early since it was late March.
- I was racing on Saturday, so she knew I wouldn't decide to extend my ride
- I was in an area with reliable cell coverage, so if I got a flat or something else, she knew I could/would call

She called the police within about 90min of my accident. Given the severity of what happened to me, I think the folks at the hospital can be forgiven for not worrying about IDing me in that time. I was still in the OR when she arrived at the hospital. If that same accident happened on, for example, when she was away somewhere, she would never have known unless I provided the relevant contact info. Yes, in my case, the police actually found my phone and called using it (I don't lock it) and my phone survived getting launched into a ditch (luckily). But I'm glad I had my RoadID on because while it ultimately wasn't used in my case, I also got very lucky after that one initial bit of very bad luck.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Rapp

that was my point exactly. I have no problem wearing a road id while swimming open water or in the pool. I bought one a few years ago and lost it last year at steelhead and have been fighting buying another one b/c I know the second it arrives in the mail I will find the other one. But I think I just need to pull the trigger and get it.

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God's in his heaven, alls right with the world -Nerv

Here's an idea...instead of focusing on identification of the injured, why not focus on doing what you can to decrease the chances of being one of them....like spending less time on the road and more on the trainer....if you want to show those you love how much you love them, that is...

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Coach at KonaCoach Multisport

Quote:

The hospital/EMTs never checked my RoadID, simply because I was so critical.

Because it did not matter...they wanted to save your life, not know if you had ID, Insurance, or what your blood type was. They save lives first.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

smartidtag.com has I think what u are looking for.
I have one if u would like it.
PM me ur address and will mail it to you.

Great idea: no one go outside. ever. ;-)

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

What does that have to do with my question?

I use a RoadID and love it.

You're projecting...;-)

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Coach at KonaCoach Multisport