Local inventor launches handicappped placard saver product
It all started with a shoulder injury, for local former businessman, now inventor Artie Brower.
He found that putting a car’s handicapped placard up, then removing it when you had to drive, was difficult. And it is the law.
It is illegal almost everywhere in the U.S. and Canada to keep a handicap placard still on display while driving. According to the law, a moving vehicle that has a parking permit hanging from the mirror is technically obstructing the driver’s view of the road. It is not only dangerous, but can be expensive when you get ticketed for the traffic violation.
Yet you need it on display when you park. The placards themselves can get torn and frayed by many with constant removal and displaying, and for many, just doing this process is painful.
“I thought I had to figure out what I could do to make it easier.” He quoted some of the laws. In Florida it is Statute 316.2004 which states: “No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster, or other non-transparent material upon the front windshield…which materially obstructs, obscures, or impairs the driver’s clear view of the highway or any intersecting highway.” In Florida, you can be charged and fined $113 for an infraction, in other states fines vary.
He came up with what is called a “J hook” to post and easily remove the placard from rearview mirrors.
After building one of his inventions, he met with a 95-year-old handicapped designated person as well. “She said it was so much easier.”
A patent is on the way, he said.
“Everyone wants to be an inventor,” he continued, including himself. He encourages other inventors to apply themselves to projects they have knowledge of, and pursue that dream.
He’s been marketing to the entire U.S. through advertising and on the Internet, and has done a few innovative local marketing strategies as well. For example, he’s went to local car washes to explain his invention. “People really look at their rearview mirror when they wash their car.”
He has also visited car rental companies.
Originally from Long Island, he’s been in Florida 52 years. He was in the prestigious Navy Seabees, and lives with his wife Elaine (an upscale dog groomer) in a beautiful home in North Fort Myers.
He offers a risk free, 90 day unconditional money back guarantee on his invention.
You can learn more about The Placard Hanger, the law, and more on his website, placardhanger.com.