Emergency Contact Registry Established by Wisniewski Legislation Known as Sara’s Law
(SAYREVILLE) — Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) Tuesday hailed the establishment of a next-of-kin registry by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), which was created as a result of legislation he sponsored known as Sara’s Law. The bill was unanimously passed in the legislature and signed into law by the Governor in April, 2011.
Sara’s Law is named in memory of Sara Dubinin, a 19 year old from Sayreville who was killed in a car accident. The tragedy was compounded by the delay in notifying her family. By the time her mother Betty was told of the accident, Sara was already in a coma and she never regained consciousness.
Betty Dubinin shared her experience with Assemblyman Wisniewski and, working together with legislative colleagues, Wisniewski drafted the legislation that was to become known as Sara’s Law. The bill required the creation of a next-of-kin database at the MVC so that families can be promptly notified when a loved one is in jeopardy.
The MVC database is accessible online and allows New Jersey drivers and those with a non-driver identification card to voluntarily log in and designate two people as emergency contacts in the event of an accident. The information provided by program participants will only be available to law enforcement officers for use during a serious motor vehicle accident and will allow timely notice to those designated in the MVC database.
“Designating a family member, trusted friend or loved one to be an emergency contact will help ensure that, in the event of a life-threatening situation, someone could be notified and be at the person’s bedside within minutes rather than hours,” explained Wisniewski. “Sara’s Law offers the opportunity for all of us to avoid the ordeal her family endured and will stand as a lasting tribute to the memory of Sara Dubinin.”
Those wishing to register emergency contact information in the registry can do so via the MVC web site at http://www.nj.gov/mvc.