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Anyone using “ROAD iD” ?

OneForTheRoad

Maximum Pace
Jan 3, 2021
150
162
I have been thinking a lot about how my family could be reached out, in case I get involved in an accident.

This ROAD iD seems an elegant solution, not only for when I'm cycling, but also when I'm doing fast packing in remote mountains.

Is there someone using it? If not, what other safety measures do you take?

A friend of mine has his wife phone number as his iPhone Wallpaper, but phones can run out battery or being smashed in a crash.

I also thought about just having sort of emergency card in my wallet, but also could take more time for people to find it.

Thoughts? :)
 
I have a laminated copy of my gaijin card with my wife's number on it in my tool kit.
If I can't talk then I just want to be taken to hospital; as soon as possible and as I'm the only fat white cyclist around these parts, the cops will find her in a few minutes.
 
I have a Road ID. I also have an emergency card in my biking wallet. Both have emergency contact ph #, blood type, alergies, info on them.

If you get the Road ID, they have the type with strong rubber bands on each end so you can put it on your watch band. I did that with my FitBit watchband (plastic band) and the Road ID's rubber bands were so strong they ate into the plastic band and ruined it. Now I keep it on my key ring. So, if I were to get another one, I'd get the one that comes with its own band.
 
The basic concept of Road ID is silly.

You should always, always, always have ID in your pocket while riding. Period. Especially as a foreigner in Japan, since it's a legal requirement, unless you are a naturalized citizen.

At the same time, you should always, always, always have your phone with you, and you should mark your parents/spouse/employer as your emergency contact in your phone's contacts so that an emergency responder can call them using your phone's emergency call feature.
 
$40 for a bracelet? I know I just spent some serious money on a bike, but even that is too pricey for me. It's a nice idea in practice but at that price, it's too much for this day and age with the tech we have available to us.
 
The basic concept of Road ID is silly.

You should always, always, always have ID in your pocket while riding. Period. Especially as a foreigner in Japan, since it's a legal requirement, unless you are a naturalized citizen.

At the same time, you should always, always, always have your phone with you, and you should mark your parents/spouse/employer as your emergency contact in your phone's contacts so that an emergency responder can call them using your phone's emergency call feature.
Carrying the the ID in the wallet, yes, for sure. Just adding more info on it probably will do the job. I just thought it might take few precious minutes for someone to finally find it, and it will be likely wrapped in plastic, together with other stuff in my jersey pocket.

Phone, as I mentioned, runs out of battery (I'm still a proud user of iPhone 6s, and the battery doesn't last long). It also might get smashed depending of the type of accident.
 
Carrying the the ID in the wallet, yes, for sure. Just adding more info on it probably will do the job. I just thought it might take few precious minutes for someone to finally find it, and it will be likely wrapped in plastic, together with other stuff in my jersey pocket.

Phone, as I mentioned, runs out of battery (I'm still a proud user of iPhone 6s, and the battery doesn't last long). It also might get smashed depending of the type of accident.
Precious minutes to do what?

Regardless of whether your emergency contact is on a bracelet or listed in your phone, your family probably isn't going to be notified until you're already in a hospital, possibly hours after your accident. It could be days for your family in your country of origin, especially if you have a spouse that doesn't speak your native language. If you're that worried about your family worrying about you, you should be spending you money on a Specialized ANGi helmet instead of a Road ID!

Putting your blood type on a bracelet is also basically pointless, because in any emergency requiring a blood transfusion, you're going to get O negative regardless of your blood type. The hospital is going to test your blood before they switch to using your actual blood type. There's too much of a risk to do otherwise.


As for phones being smashed, I had my iPhone XR fly out of my pocket while riding the other day and it was no worse for wear than a few scratches on the bezel.... Even if the screen gets smashed, it will almost certainly function well enough to make an emergency call.
 
Precious minutes to do what?

Regardless of whether your emergency contact is on a bracelet or listed in your phone, your family probably isn't going to be notified until you're already in a hospital, possibly hours after your accident. It could be days for your family in your country of origin, especially if you have a spouse that doesn't speak your native language. If you're that worried about your family worrying about you, you should be spending you money on a Specialized ANGi helmet instead of a Road ID!

Putting your blood type on a bracelet is also basically pointless, because in any emergency requiring a blood transfusion, you're going to get O negative regardless of your blood type. The hospital is going to test your blood before they switch to using your actual blood type. There's too much of a risk to do otherwise.


As for phones being smashed, I had my iPhone XR fly out of my pocket while riding the other day and it was no worse for wear than a few scratches on the bezel.... Even if the screen gets smashed, it will almost certainly function well enough to make an emergency call.
Interestingly, a standalone ANGi sensor costs basically the same amount as a Road ID.
 
Out of curiousity - am I the only one that has been decrlared "Dead on Arrival" by first responders?
Yep - Jan 17th 1997 - Legally gone..... Guess how long it took to find my ID to contact my parents? Hours....
Imagine this... while I got ragdolled and literally blown out of my shoes - my wallet went flying as did my phone.
Did I have a road ID? Nope, and even if I did own one, I was in a car wreck and would not have been wearing it anyway (yes, I had a seatbelt on).

But point being- a wallet can fly out of a jersey pocket in the case of impact.
Also - last fall, I hopped a curb on my road bike and my galaxy flew out of my pocket and shattered the screen. It was impossible to swipe to even unlock.

Again - back to the issue... it took hours for my wallet to be found after my wreck.
I was in and out of consciousness and had been in the hospital with glass and rocks being removed from my face and a CT scan in progress when my wallet was found and my parents contacted. While i was conscious, I could not convey a phone number or even a name.

Had things been a bit different - the silly bracelet could be the difference between my parents saying goodbye to their son or not.
Wallets get lost, dropped, etc... The bracelet is not coming off.

Regarding the price - wait for a sale and they are $25 with 2 years of your data available online.
I don't find that unreasonable at all. My kids even have them with my phone number on them. If they get seperated from us at a store, amausement park, etc... our numbers are right there. I am not saying they are the ultimate solution - but they are a solid one.

Don't get one if you don't want one - I really don't care - but I have been in the situation if would have made ahuge difference.
 
Out of curiousity - am I the only one that has been decrlared "Dead on Arrival" by first responders?
Yep - Jan 17th 1997 - Legally gone..... Guess how long it took to find my ID to contact my parents? Hours....
Imagine this... while I got ragdolled and literally blown out of my shoes - my wallet went flying as did my phone.
Did I have a road ID? Nope, and even if I did own one, I was in a car wreck and would not have been wearing it anyway (yes, I had a seatbelt on).

But point being- a wallet can fly out of a jersey pocket in the case of impact.
Also - last fall, I hopped a curb on my road bike and my galaxy flew out of my pocket and shattered the screen. It was impossible to swipe to even unlock.

Again - back to the issue... it took hours for my wallet to be found after my wreck.
I was in and out of consciousness and had been in the hospital with glass and rocks being removed from my face and a CT scan in progress when my wallet was found and my parents contacted. While i was conscious, I could not convey a phone number or even a name.

Had things been a bit different - the silly bracelet could be the difference between my parents saying goodbye to their son or not.
Wallets get lost, dropped, etc... The bracelet is not coming off.

Regarding the price - wait for a sale and they are $25 with 2 years of your data available online.
I don't find that unreasonable at all. My kids even have them with my phone number on them. If they get seperated from us at a store, amausement park, etc... our numbers are right there. I am not saying they are the ultimate solution - but they are a solid one.

Don't get one if you don't want one - I really don't care - but I have been in the situation if would have made ahuge difference.
@bloaker , thanks for sharing your experience. And I'm glad you made it through alive.

Thankfully, I have never been involved in any serious accident, neither anyone close to me. So I don't really know how the "rescue procedures" work and timing of when your family will be contacted. With my wife being recently pregnant for the first time, I started to think more about it. ;)

Regarding the Road iD specifically, the cheapest option with shipping included costs JPY 3,641. Actually cheaper than the ANGi sensor, but I don't really we should compare, as they are completely different things.

Anyway, thanks for the inputs, everyone.
 
Personally I use LiveTrack on my Garmin + Medical ID on my iPhone. LiveTrack already activates enough as it is if I do emergency braking, so I think it will go off if I've an incident. And since LiveTrack and ANGi rely on my phone, it's the single point of failure. At least with LiveTrack my wife gets an email with my route and she can see exactly where I am, so even if it doesn't go off. She will be able to see where my route stopped.
 
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