No looking back for Reverse Safe

Gerry Monteiro narrowly escaped family tragedy twice in an eight-month period a few years ago when he almost ran over his son while reversing the family caravan down the driveway.

Determined to avoid a third such event, Mr Monteiro started the search for an investor to help him research a warning device to suit all vehicle types.

The result is Reverse Safe, an electronic reversing alarm system that activates automatically whenever reverse gear is engaged.

“It eliminates the guesswork from reversing via the use of small ultrasonic sensors mounted to the vehicle’s rear bumper,” Mr Monteiro said.

“It detects human beings as well as solid objects; it alerts drivers of imminent reversing impact via a series of audible tones.

“As the driver continues to reverse towards the object the alert frequency increases until a constant tone is emitted at 0.5 metres.”

While satisfied with the results, Mr Monteiro said the development process required a lot of perseverance.

“I contacted the Department of Planning and Infrastructure’s vehicles standards division to let them know what I was trying to do but they declined to see me,” he said.

“But I kept calling, and after several phone calls and me describing my sincere interest in the project, the department agreed to see me.

“And five of the department’s engineers were called in to hear my ideas and offer suggestions.”

Mr Monteiro then set about designing Reverse Safe from scratch.

“My cousin, who is an electrical engineer, was here from Malaysia at the time and assisted me with finding a manufacturer and putting the prototype together,” he said.

“The system had to have superior detection, the ability to be installed to all vehicle types, sound an alert if it failed in any way, and volume control for senior citizens or people with hearing impediments.”

But Mr Monteiro said his biggest challenge wasn’t finding an investment partner or developing the system, but rather product credibility.

“Companies were very, very reserved about it and its features,” he said. “Even now there is skepticism about what the system can do.

“We are continually needing to prove ourselves and what it can do.”

Mr Monteiro secured a significant degree of credibility for Reverse Safe last month when it won a WA WorkSafe Award.

“Since the award winners were announced I have seen a dramatic change in sales,” Mr Monteiro said.

“The first priority for most corporations and government sectors is safety, and the second is vehicle protection.

“There has been a huge interest from companies such as BHP Billiton.

“Fleet trials are under way at the Disability Services Commission, Western Power Corporation, and Toll Express has installed the system on its entire fleet.”

Making Reverse Safe affordable was another goal for Mr Monteiro, which is why he decided not to go down the path of selling its exclusive rights to a company.

“If I had done this, the cost would have been doubled almost immediately rather than the $450 to $500 it costs to have it fully installed,” he said.