COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) – While this is something we hope will never happen, you may find yourself in an emergency.
Now in Iowa, the people who matter most to you can be told if something happens to you much faster.
Under the new legislation, the Iowa Department of Transportation is now required to ask anyone who renews their driver’s license or plates if they wish to add an emergency contact. This information would be in an electronic database accessible only to the Department of Public Security.
This will ensure that your family is made aware of the situation by law enforcement, rather than hearing about it on social media or elsewhere.
Not only will this help inform family or friends more quickly, but it will also be of huge benefit to law enforcement.
“I’m sure law enforcement had a process they would use to be able to brief family members,” said Iowa DOT representative Darcy Doty. “I guess some of this legislation was passed because it takes time. It is very laborious to find a family member, or a loved one, or even a friend in an emergency.”
The program won’t be released until later this year, but the collection has already started.
“I think most people in Iowa want to make sure that in an emergency that they are involved in, their loved ones, family members, friends can have access to this information to find out if there is an emergency, ”Doty said. “In the two days that we were able to collect, we are already seeing around 3,000 to 4,000 records of people opting for this.”
This program is also available for those who have identification documents that are not driver’s licenses.
You can also enroll in the program without renewing an ID or license plate. This, along with several other functions, can be done by visiting the Iowa DOT website to avoid the headache of going to the DMV.
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