Just received via my diver club’s newsletter (SubAtlantide Cesena) a hint about storing on your cell phone as ICE (ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, … et cetera) the phonenumbers to call In case of emergency. On a first sight I thought: “Yeah that’s the way it should work!”, but after regaing control of myself in spite of my geekness, I figured an emergency situation: the last thing emergency personnel or someone giving first aid is going/would like to do is to figure out how your mobile phone works. Carrying a card with emergency contacts details in the wallet would be definetely better.
I googled for “ICE in case of emergency” to found out if that was a hoax. So I found ICE on wikipedia:
The ICE (In Case of Emergency) program was conceived by paramedic Bob Brotchie in May 2005. The idea behind the program is to enable first responders (paramedics, firefighters, police officers) to identify people and contact their next of kin to obtain important medical information.
and a link to the article (in italian) “ICE nel telefonino, salva davvero la vita?” written by Paolo Attivissimo, a wellknown italian blogger and IT writer, suggesting a “Ink&Paper” solution:
segnare su un cartoncino, su una tessera plastificata o su un ciondolo da tenere al collo le indicazioni d’emergenza. Questo permette di indicare non soltanto i numeri da contattare, ma anche informazioni forse più vitali, come il proprio gruppo sanguigno, eventuali allergie a medicinali o terapie in corso
Bottom line: If you feel comfortable storing some ICE info in your phone this is not a bad idea at all, but you’d better not to rely solely on it; carrying a plate or a card with the same info in your wallet/pocket is more pragmatic and effective.
