Man’s Idea May Help Older Drivers
Prompted to find a solution for the dangers of racing teenagers, slow-driving senior citizens, and everyone in between driving on the road together, one man had an idea: Why not figure out a way to let drivers know who is behind the wheel of another vehicle?
With that notion, Patrick G. conceived of the Senior Awareness Flag. The Senior Awareness Flag, still in the development stage, is a sort of sign to be placed conspicuously on a vehicle to let all other drivers know that a senior citizen is driving that car. The display will hopefully prompt other drivers to slow down and take proper measures to avoid accidents, Patrick said.
“My father is 87, my mother is 86, and I have an aunt who’s 85- they’re all older drivers,” he explained the source of his idea. “I’m not saying older people are bad drivers, they just need a little more time to react. With this, other drivers will be able to tell that it’s an older driver.”
Patrick, a 62 year old machine setter, first came up with the idea about two years ago. He made a prototype, liked what he saw, and contacted Invent-Tech, an invention marketing firm, to help him make his idea a profitable reality.
“I’m always coming up with special tools and things for myself,” Patrick said. “I’ve had two other inventions in the past but I didn’t follow through with them and now one is on the market from someone else. This time, I’d seen commercials for Invent-Tech so I called.”
Invent-Tech, based in Florida, liked Patrick’s idea and took him under its wing. With the company’s help, Patrick’s idea is now being pitched to dozens of potential manufacturers, explained Invent-Tech’s Apollo Hernandez, a member of the company’s publicity and inventor relations teams. Exact details of the Senior Awareness Flag, such as size, how it will be displayed and the like, have been left primarily up to manufacturers.
While interest from various production companies has been promising, no one has bitten yet, Patrick said. Because the product has not been picked up by a manufacturer or patented, Patrick says, he has been advised by Invent-Tech not to give out too many details about his brainstorm, as a precaution against others taking the idea.
Patrick’s hope for the Senior Awareness Flag is to, one day, see it be sold on the television network, QVC, in medical supply stores and drug stores, and eventually, even in departments of motor vehicles. In the mean time, the invention will be visiting a trade show in Chicago this week, where many manufacturers will get to see a prototype, enticing them to offer a licensing agreement.