Travel Tip: Program In Case of Emergency (ICE) Numbers into Cell Phones

Nobody plans on getting into a serious accident—especially when they are on vacation—which is exactly why cell phones with easily identifiable phone numbers to call “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) can help police officers, emergency medical technicians and hospital personnel to quickly reach an accident victim’s next of kin if they become incapacitated.

The ICE campaign was developed by a British paramedic who observed that many of the accident victims he treated already had cell phones with them, but it was difficult to determine which number to call if the patients were unable to communicate.

By labeling your primary contact number as ICE in your cell phone, emergency and hospital personnel can quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as “ICE.” For more than one contact number, use the labels ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. Even if you never need someone to dial your ICE number, it’s one less thing to worry about while you’re on vacation.