It has come to my attention that there is opposition to the PROWAC report concerning detectible warnings and audible pedestrian signals.

I would like to register my plea for you to ignore this misinformation and accept the validity of this report.  Had the warnings been present in 1983 I would not have fallen 4.5 feet onto the tracks at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in North Berkeley, California during which I sustained three broken ribs.

Part of what has made my most-of-the-way recovery so difficult is the continual repetitions from some that I was negligent with my cane.  Dr. Bensen from Boston University proved beyond a reasonable doubt that I was not negligent, and this has certainly helped.  However, self-blaming can be internalized very well and it is a continued challenging fight within.  I definitely avoid areas where drop-offs may be present because I am still afraid.

The other fact is that I have been hit four times by vehicles, and all those times I was in the right of way.  In another situation, I was almost killed at one intersection because an audible signal wasn't present and, with two instructors watching, a fast-moving driver turned right on red when the walk sign came on, and one of them literally dragged me backward from death.  This has also made a psychological impact which affects me.  I was in the right of way but . . .

One reason an audible ped signal would have helped there is because when I'm POSITIVE I am correct,I can make my intention to cross a street much more visible.  I have also noticed, since this mentioned experience, that audible signals seem to register unconsciously with drivers.  My theory is that they subconsciously know there will be hard-core proof that they did not look before they turned, or that people will observe them running a red light.

Though anything is possible, it is really difficult to continue to travel with confidence and make myself keep getting out there when, in the subliminal background,  my safety feels jeopardized most of the time.  This creates unnecessary and eliminatable stress which I would not miss at all!

If the "logic" of the opposition argument were to be applied, then exit signs would be removed from freeways (they just demonstrate the incompetence of sighted drivers); safety railings would not exist on bridges (everyone knows no variable would cause someone to fall off the edge); and "stand back from the cliff's edge at least ... feet" would not be necessary.

We could also eliminate exit signs from theaters and stop having the safety guards drop as trains are approaching.

Please do implement the findings of this report.

Thank you for reading my letter.

Sincerely,

Jeanne-Marie Moore
 

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