Wendy C. Nusbaum
|
September 27, 2002 |
I understand that you are taking public input right now
concerning Audible Traffic Signals (ATS). I have a 4 year old son who was
born blind. Over the past 4 years I have learned a great deal that has
changed my feelings and attitude towards blind people and their abilities. My
guess is that no one on this Access Board is blind. Have you at least
researched the blind and their travel techniques? What you are thinking about
doing will cause more trouble than help. The blind rely on their hearing to
tell them what is going on. It is wonderful to watch my son. The things that
he notices that the rest of us just tune out. By putting all these ATS and
locators on the street corners you are going to confuse the issue. There
will be so many conflicting sounds going off at one time that the blind person
will not know which one is for them or where it is coming from. Now if there
is a very complex intersection the ATS may have its place there. Vibrotactile
indicators would be a better choice over the tone locators. I feel a great
deal more research needs to be done before you pass these new guidelines.
Thank you for listening to my concerns. If you would like more input you can
reach me at any of the following.
Sincerely,
Wendy C. Nusbaum
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