It’s been said that Sir Isaac Newton had his Eureka moment when an apple fell on his head.
Peter Olt had his when he was nearly killed by a distracted driver on a Tarpon Springs, Florida road.
Olt has driven motorcycles all over the world, and admits he has had his fair share of close calls and near misses. But, after just barely avoiding a potentially serious FL motorcycle crash with a motorist who had veered into his lane in Tarpon Springs in July of 2011, the Tampa Bay inventor and motorcycle enthusiast decided something had to be done to make the roads safer for motorcyclists.
So, Olt put his electrical engineering background to work and invented the first automatic loud horn and light warning system for motorcycles.
His system, called the Screaming Banshee™ (named for the “banshee” — a female spirit who cries loudly to warn people of impending danger), allows a rider to use his or her regular horn for polite warnings or the “Banshee Horn” warning system for emergencies.
If a rider suspects impending serious danger, pressing the horn button down for ¼ or ½ a second activates a 139-decibel air horn and pulsing high beam lights. The idea was so popular that when he posted his idea on Kickstarter.com to get funding, he raised nearly three-times what he had initially requested.
Within the six months that followed, he hired a full-time staff and is now expanding to sell his product globally.
The Tarpon Springs motorcycle accident attorneys at Farah & Farah think that any technology designed to protect motorcyclists from serious injury on Florida’s roads and highways can only help. If you have been injured because of a distracted motorist, you may be entitled to compensation. Call us at (800) 533-3555 and we will review your case.