Not Reaching Pouch

 
How it started

The pouch was created in 2016, after the fatal traffic stop of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. After being asked for his license and proof of insurance, Castile was shot by an officer who thought he was reaching for a gun Castile had told him about but said he was not reaching for.

Founder Jacquelyn Carter created the Not Reaching pouch to de-escalate such fatal traffic stops. It was a simple solution: a small plastic pouch that clips to a driver’s side air vent and holds a driver’s license, registration and insurance card.

Not Reaching has had great success. More than 50,000 Not Reaching pouches are in cars across the country. Now the company has been asked to create custom pouches for drivers with medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

How it works

The medical alert pouch and app works in cars that are Bluetooth-enabled and support CarPlay or Android Auto. If the driver is involved in an accident, with a touch of a button on their car display, first responders can see the driver’s medical condition, prescribed medication and eating behaviors. If the display isn’t available, then the pouch clipped to the driver’s side air vent will detail the driver’s medical condition.

For the driver, the app will send automatic notifications before they operate their cars, such as text reminders to take their medication. The driver will also receive a caution message if he or she is severely behind in tending to specific, necessary health behaviors. Reports can be generated and forwarded to the driver’s primary care physician or accessed during a driver’s medical appointment.

What’s needed

• Funding for ongoing marketing.
• A connection to AARP or another national organization that supports seniors.
• Not Reaching also wants to increase connection with the police community and to learn, best practices on how to capture the right type of data that would help insurance companies lower their rates for seniors.