A new program kicks off across New York State this week in an effort to save more lives. It's called the Yellow Dot program and it's meant to inform first responders of your medical history when they arrive to the scene of a crash or emergency. Our Lara Greenberg tells us how it works and how you can get involved.

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- When you drive your car, you always have your registration and insurance handy. But now, New York State wants you to add medical history to that list. It's part of the Sheriff Association's Yellow Dot program, designed to inform responders of a victim's medical history at the scene of a crash or emergency.

"Lot of the stuff that we're looking for is past medical history to help understand what's going on in the situation. And that's even more prevalent in accidents that we don't always have family members there," said Bill Kennedy, Schuyler County Emergency Management Director.

To remedy that, more than 30 New York sheriff's offices will now offer free Yellow Dot kits to help emergency crews.

Here's how it works. Once you fill out the form with your medical history and attach a photo of yourself, you seal it and put it in your glove compartment. Once emergency crews see the yellow sticker on the back of your car, they'll know exactly where to look to find your medical information.

"That's information they might not have that could save a person's life when you talk about medical conditions or medications that they're on," Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Yessman said.

This will enable emergency responders to work faster during that first golden hour after a crash.

Kennedy said, "If you understand what's going on with a person from the medical side, it helps along with the trauma side."

Not only saving response time, but saving lives as well.

To find out if your sheriff's office is participating or if you would like a yellow kit, call your local sheriff's office or visit www.nysheriffs.org/yellowdot.