'Not Reaching' pouch aims to help make traffic stops safer for both drivers and officers

WASHINGTON - Getting pulled over can be an uneasy experience, but one woman believes she has found a solution to help drivers and police officers feel safe during a traffic stop.

Jackie Carter said her friends in law enforcement told her that drivers reaching for the glove compartment, pocket or purse is what makes them most nervous during traffic stops.

Carter believes she has come up with a small, but effective tool that "deescalates a situation that is usually tense and stressful."

She has created the "Not Reaching" pouch that clips to your driver's side air vent and holds the three things that officers ask for during any traffic stop - your driver's license, insurance card and registration.

The plastic pouch is removable so it can be stored away when you are not behind the wheel.

"It takes away the reaching that police officers see when they walk to the car," Carter said. "They are uncertain about what is going on. You can understand their perspective. As a black person, we are automatically afraid just because of things that have always gone on in our society."

Carter first created it back in 2015 and the Coatesville Police Department in Pennsylvania passes them out to motorists for free.

A post about the pouch on the Shade Room Instagram account has recently gone viral with more than two million views. But there is some mixed reactions about it.

One person wrote, "You should be embarrassed, America."

Another commented, "Sad we even gotta create ideas like this to NOT get shot."

"This product now is actually starting a conversation and that is actually what I wanted it to do," said Carter. "I wanted it to be a conversation where we can come together and say, 'How can we end this?' So it's not against police. Actually, I work with them every day. I love them. It's for police officers. It's for motorists."

Carter said she is still trying to get more police departments on board to get them to pass them out to motorists. For now, you can buy them on her website at notreaching.com.