TMZ on YOUR Doorstep?*

If you ever have a loved one involved in a fatal crash who do you want showing up at your door to bring you the news? A trained professional? Or TMZ?

This was the scenario facing the family of Kim Howe who died in the recent crash in Los Angeles involving Bruce Jenner. The celebrity gossip program TMZ was one of several similar news organizations that broke the news after identifying the vehicle and visiting neighbors of the car's owner.

https://tinyurl.com/nhz3enk - "TMZ: Small World in Bruce Jenner Fatal Crash with Victim Kim Howe"

This is not how it is supposed to be. When it comes to notifying the next of kin, the police should be in the privileged position.

Legislation creating the Motor Vehicle Emergency Contact Locator System (VinECON) is expected to be introduced before the California legislature today and will provide for the creation of a next of kin notification protocol integrating new car dealers with the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) database for the input of next of kin information tied to vehicle identification numbers (VINs).

The Bruce Jenner crash was tragic, but there have been more alarming and embarrassing (to the police) scenarios:

https://tinyurl.com/ppv4cg5 - “Body is Found after Deputies Fail” – “Corona couple discover their dead son hours after Riverside County authorities searched a crash scene. Parents demand explanation.”

The Riverside, Ca., incident described above was actually a repeat of a similar incident eight years prior when 19-year-old Dan Teter Jr. was thrown from his car as a result of a crash. His body was only discovered four days later, one day after he passed away prior to being discovered. (The family filed a lawsuit against the police and others at the time.)

Or, the Newport Beach crash two years ago which took the lives of five teenagers and also posed a challenge to police for identifying the victims, one of which was discovered at the morgue by a grand-parent using the iPhone locator app: https://tinyurl.com/llapfqa - “Grandmother Of 2 Teens Killed In Newport Crash Speaks Out”

Yesterday, the organization Car Dealers Saving Lives secured a California legislator to introduce and carry the VinECON bill for the 2015 California Legislative Session.

The next step for this legislation will be the official re-introduction of the VinECON bill today. At that time, the legislator will be announced and the VinECON bill will be assigned an official bill #.

The bill will provide a means by which a purchaser or lessee of a new motor vehicle can voluntarily designate in a centralized law enforcement database emergency notification for their next of kin in the event they are victims of an automobile crash.

Since many crash victims are unconscious as a result of a crash, this information will be crucial for timely notification of next of kin. Multiple car makers already provide for the identification of next of kin at vehicle purchase. The objective of the legislation is to make the information available to law enforcement under appropriate circumstances, such as a car crash with deceased, unconscious or missing vehicle occupants.

It is worth noting that even OnStar representatives are not allowed to disclose next of kin information to police officers without the consent of the subscriber.

The legislation has the support of We Save Lives (an organization founded by MADD founder Candace Lightner); the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the Riverside Sheriffs Association, California Fraternal Order of Police, the California College and University Police Chiefs Association, the California Police Chiefs Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The bottom line is that even connected cars are failing to re-connect drivers to their families in the event of dire circumstances. The hope is that California’s adoption of the VinECON legislation, which provides for the compensation of new car dealers for gathering the information, will serve as a model for the rest of the U.S. and, possibly, other countries.

*This post has been updated to replace the term "accident" with the word "crash" in all instances to more accurately convey the importance of the proposed legislation.