Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Salt Lake City — Car accident victims can now communicate more quickly with first responders, thanks to a new program in Salt Lake City.
It's called the Yellow Dot program, and it prepares drivers and their vehicles to be equipped with vital medical information in case of an emergency. It's especially useful for drivers with medical conditions; first responders can be clued into extenuating circumstances more easily.
Residents can write their medical information on a standardized form and then store it in the glove compartment of their vehicle. Then program participants will place a Yellow Dot sticker on their car in a visible area to indicate they're prepared with the forms.
"We spend a lot of time in our cars, and no matter how safe we try to be, accidents can happen," said Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. "Paramedics and firefighters are called on to administer medical attention at the scene of an accident; we can help them and ourselves by using Yellow Dot. Participating in this program is an easy way to prevent a bad situation from getting worse."
- Print a photo of yourself. Make sure someone could easily identify the person in the photo as you
- Print and fill out the emergency medical form available on www.utahyellowdot.com
- Attach the photo to the medical form and store it in your glove box
- Place the yellow dot sticker on the lower left corner of your rear window
Participating in the program is free and easy: a person just needs to take a photo of themselves, fill out an emergency medical form, which can be found at www.UtahYellowDot.com, put the Yellow Dot sticker in the lower left corner of their vehicle's rear window and place the completed medical information with picture in their glove box.
The medical form asks for emergency contact information, as well medical conditions, surgeries, allergies and current medications.
Dozens of other states have implemented similar programs across the country. Each program has similar goals and rules to help first responders act swiftly during the first "golden hour" of a car accident.
Connecticut implemented their Yellow Dot program in 2002 and then it spread to other counties and states. It was recently started in New Hanover County in North Carolina, and the sheriff compared it to a medical alert bracelet.
"(It) allows first responders to get information as quickly as possible on you and help you," said Sheriff Ed McMahon.
He said in case of an emergency or accident, his office could notify a family member based off the contact information on the medical form, rather than having to search for next of kin, which would ultimately save time and resources.
As Salt Lake City gears up to begin its Yellow Dot program, residents can simply print and fill out the sheet, attach a photo and be ready to go. The sticker is administered by the Utah Department of Public Safety's Highway Safety Office and is a free service available to all Utahns.
