To: U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board (Access Board)
From: Ruby Ryles, Ph.D.
Coordinator, Professional Development
Professional Development & Research Institute
on Blindness
Louisiana Tech University
Re: Audible Traffic Signals (ATS) & Detectable
Warnings
As the Coordinator of Louisiana Tech University's
Orientation & Mobility Master's degree program, I am opposed to the Access
Board's guidelines which would mandate ATS at all street crossings. Most
blind people can and do safely traverse the vast majority
of intersections with only adequate training. My O&M instructors find that ATS
at standard intersections are more of a hazard than a help for their blind
students because ATS produce competing and confusing noises to the traffic
sounds needed for safe crossings. The addition of locator tones would simply
be a nightmare of noise for a blind person crossing a street using proper
travel skills. Hopefully, the incredible cost alone of this proposed project
will kill the idea before it becomes the fiasco it definitely would.
Generally, the environment does NOT need to be adapted for blind people, but
blind people need good training to adapt to the environment. Much of the
current training is not good - THAT is where the $$$ and the change must
occur.