In September of 2008, Ohio became one of the first states to make a Next of Kin registration program available to its residents. The Ohio state legislature established the program in response to situations where police and emergency personnel had been unable to locate or contact family members of people who had been fatally injured. Several accidents occurred where people had been severely injured but not killed instantly. Tragically, their relatives were unable to spend time with their injured relatives during their last hours due to the difficulty police had in identifying exactly who to notify.
The law specifies that anyone who has a valid Ohio driver’s license, temporary instruction permit, or non-driver identification card may voluntarily participate in the program. The program allows an individual to provide the name and contact information of a person who they wish to be notified in the event the individual is involved in a crash or emergency and is otherwise unable to communicate with the contact person. If someone under the age of 18 wishes to sign up for the Next of Kin program, one of their emergency contacts must be a parent or guardian.
The Next of Kin program requires an individual … Read More... “Ohio’s Next of Kin Notification Program”