The American Council of the Blind is holding a convention in Louisville at the Galt Hotel. According to their press release: It might be a good idea for any Louisville hybrid owners to visit the demos and see what is going on. I've sent Mike Troutmann of the Courier-Journal, a data package e-mail with what I learned at the NHTSA hearing June 23 but reporters always like a little local color. You might also take along some petitions. Bob Wilson
I've said it before and I'll say it again: hybrid or conventional vehicle, the blind should not be allowed to drive. To blame their troubles on the Prius is wrong. No matter how loud or quiet the car is, having a blind driver is just plain silly. Why bother having a convention about it?
i suppose in a few years (decades? whenever) when we get EV's mass produced we'll have this same debate. lets make all EV's sound like a mack truck, otherwise some moron will run out into the street and get flattened. we best put noisemakers on surfboards too ; some blind person standing in the surf on a beach might get hit. parachutes too ; maybe someone standing in a field will get hit by a parachutist. and canoes, you might be swimming and not hear the canoe coming at you. we don't have to worry about pollution; we're going to legislate ourselves to death
Sitting inline at Taco Bell I almost witnessed an overanxious woman in Chevy Tahoe? SUV after getting her food, run over two little Indian girls and their Mom as they exited Taco Bell. The engine was definitely noisy and all the people involved had their eyes wide open. I was behind the SUV and truth be told, I was quite pissed at the woman driving the SUV. She barely stopped in time, and believe it or not, she sped out of there and wasted no time in hitting the gas pedal. Some people will never ever learn. ZC1
I need to emphasize that we need information, not confrontation. The blind have sunk a lot of resources into this effort. Just remember the goal is "Pedestrian Safety ..." but non-technical members of the blind community remain abysmally ignorant of the big picture. Still it behoves us to listen to their concerns and 'read between the lines.' They only have one tool, their hearing, and have had a lot of bad experiences with technology promises that didn't pan out. If they have a demonstration, go to it, be polite and keep your ears open. Don't go with attitude. Now if someone asks your opinion, state the truth, what you feel comfortable with. In this case, being a little boring will speak volumes as other voters hear your voice. Just observe the obvious. If they ask a question you aren't sure about. just say, "I'm not sure about that." You are of course welcome to drop my name since I have done a little work in this area. I would be interested in user reports from Louisville about their demo. It turns out that every conversation I've had with them has added another piece of the puzzle. You can help me a lot by visiting and posting a report. Thanks, Bob Wilson
I have compassion for those unfortunate enough to be blind. I have seen the lesser- than attitude of others at me for being on a cane. I have seen the holier than thou attitude of others who are thin while I am heavy. I have also seen the attitude of superiority of citizens who spat at me when I wore a uniform of my country's military. It's one of the reasons I dislike Denver so much. But I never tried to get special treatment because I was military or injured or fat. I dont expect the world to change it's way of doing things just to suit me. I wanted to walk on my own so I got a cane. If the blind want to be independant also let them use an ear amplificaton device to hear better when out in the world. Don't make it my problem because it is not.
Here's my issue, and why I'm calling bullshit: A luxury auto coasting makes the same noise (tire noise mostly) as our Prius in electric mode. So, unless they want noise makers on ALL AUTOS, there point is lost on me. ... Brad
If someone can attend, please ask if they can conduct the same demo with a modern conventional luxury car.
