Have You Registered Your Emergency Contact Info?

June 29, 2015

Florida’s Emergency Contact Information system reached a milestone this week, surpassing the 10 million mark in the number of people who have securely registered their contact information with the state. That’s an average of more than a million new registrants a year since the system was created in

“The response we’ve seen from Floridians has been tremendous, but there are still more than five million licensed drivers who have not registered their emergency contact information,” said DHSMV Executive Director Terry L. Rhodes.  “ECI provides you with a safe and secure way to register your contact information so that authorities can reach your loved ones when it matters most. It takes just a few minutes to register.”
The ECI program was established in 2006 and immediately garnered national recognition. The idea for ECI  came from Christine Olson, whose daughter, Tiffiany, was killed in a traffic crash on US 19 in Manatee County more than nine years ago. It was several hours after Tiffiany’s death before authorities were able to find her contact information and notify her parents. Her mother didn’t want other families to experience a similar fate and began pushing for the creation of a system that allows people to submit their emergency contact  information as part of their secure driver license or identification card record. The information can only be  accessed by law enforcement in times of an emergency.

“Ten years ago my life changed forever with my daughter’s death. I did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to Tiffiany,” said Christine Olson. “I didn’t want her death to be in vain. I began working to create a program to help other families so that they might avoid what my family experienced. I am  pleased to hear that 10 million people have taken advantage of the Emergency Contact Information system.”

If you have already registered, be sure to keep your emergency contact information current. To register or update your information, go to: https://services.flhsmv.gov/eci/

Comments

2 Responses to “Have You Registered Your Emergency Contact Info?”

  1. Byrneville on June 29th, 2015 9:54 pm

    In our cellphone “contacts”, there is (at the beginning, top of list) ICE. This stands for “in case of emergency.” I have my husband, daughter, and son listed under this contact to be called if anything happens to me. These are great ways to reach our loved ones if need be.

  2. Tracy on June 29th, 2015 9:43 am

    I think this is a much needed and amazing thing that everyone should do. Most of us think, that’ll never happen to me. I thought it and it did. Tomorrow is the 3rd anniversary of my brother’s death. His accident happened at 10 am and we were not reached until 7 pm that night. Please take the time to do this for your family.
    Bubba 4/10/81-6/30/12