Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph today launched a campaign to urge more county drivers to add their emergency contact information to their driver’s license. As part of the effort, the Tax Collector’s Office will display posters at their office locations across Orange County and target county drivers on social media.

Randolph wants drivers to add their emergency information to a secure system created for law enforcement officers. The information in the system, known as the Driver and Vehicle Information Database (D.A.V.I.D), is connected to one’s Florida Driver License or ID Card and is available to law enforcement agencies across Florida, giving them instant access to a driver’s emergency contact should the need to reach that person arise.

Randolph said the program is particularly important for parents with young drivers on the road.

“As a parent, you can’t help but worry each and every time your child gets behind the wheel of a car,” Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph said. “By encouraging our loved ones to register their emergency contact information, we can at least have the peace of mind knowing that law enforcement has the ability to easily contact us in case of an emergency.”

The emergency contact information system was created after a 2005 motor vehicle fatality on U.S. 19 in Manatee County. The young victim’s mother, Christine Olson, was not notified of her daughter’s passing for several hours and was sadly unable to say her last goodbyes. After the incident, Ms. Olson worked with the Florida Legislature and Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) to ensure that Florida drivers are provided with the opportunity to include their emergency contact information in D.A.V.I.D. Today, 10 million of the 16 million Florida drivers have registered.

Orange County drivers can add their emergency contact information online at bit.ly/EmergencyContactInfo or in person at any of the seven Tax Collector offices in Orange County. To add one’s emergency contact information, a driver will need their current, valid Florida Driver License or ID Card and their date of birth.