[blindkid] To Sign or not To Sign

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Sun Feb 24 19:30:06 UTC 2013


Arielle,

As you have seen, my feelings on the extra protection are similar to yours.  I think one of the reasons, though, was to cover those cases where a driver is not held responsible if a pedestrian happens to be 
outside of a crosswalk.  I really don't know if such laws exist any more or not, but as I recall that was sometimes an issue.  I think pedestrian laws in general have been made stronger over the years which 
impacts this some.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson


On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 23:07:31 -0700, Arielle Silverman wrote:

>Richard and all,
>I have asked the same question about why the white cane law mandates
>special protections for pedestrians using white canes above and beyond
>the safety precautions for pedestrians in general. I have to say I
>don't agree with the extra protection for blind pedestrians, in most
>cases. There might be exceptional situations, such as those involving
>ultra-quiet hybrids or blind pedestrians out and about by themselves
>with very poor skills, where the extra protection for blind
>pedestrians does make sense, so perhaps the law should stand. But I
>disagree with the principle of that kind of policy for the same reason
>I disagree with the signs. The fact is, there are many inattentive
>sighted pedestrians (and not just children). My sighted fiancee
>regularly complains about pedestrians cutting in front of him or
>darting out in the middle of the street while he is driving. I don't
>think a blind pedestrian, on average, requires any more protection or
>consideration from drivers than does the average sighted pedestrian.
>As others have pointed out, inattention is far more dangerous than
>blindness. And honestly, if black canes were more popular and stylish,
>I would consider getting one. I don't use my cane as a tool for
>signaling other people to watch out for me; my cane is, first and
>foremost, a tool for me to tactually perceive what is around me. I
>frankly don't care much if other people can see my cane.
>Getting back to the sign topic, for me the embarrassment issue is a
>huge one and trumps any advantage the signs could possibly have. Blind
>children absorb society's perceptions of them from an early age and it
>can have a profound impact on how they feel about themselves and where
>they stand in the world. Knowing there is a sign about you to alert
>others that you need special help or protection is something that, in
>my opinion, can do a good bit of psychological damage. I know for me,
>I was pretty depressed when I found out that my parents grieved upon
>learning of my blindness. It took many years for me to accept the fact
>that my parents initially viewed my blindness as a negative aspect of
>me. I can't even imagine how depressed and mortified I would have felt
>if I had learned that my parents had a sign posted about my blindness
>to alert others that they needed to be more careful with me than with
>my sighted sister or friends. It is worth noting that although my
>parents were quite over-protective in many respects and didn't allow
>me to do a lot of independent travel at all, they never even
>considered posting a sign.
>Arielle

>On 2/23/13, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org> wrote:
>> I have thought about this issue for years. I have seen street signs near a
>> few homes which say something on the order of "Blind Child at Play". There
>> are a number of variations. I'm pretty certain there are some that say
>> something simpler like "Blind Pedestrians", near our state school for the
>> blind. We only go there a time or two a year for special events (90 miles
>> from here) so I don't recall the exact wording.
>>
>> I think what might tip the scale is where you live. Are you at the end of a
>> quiet cul-de-sac? If so, it probably makes less sense to have a sign posted.
>> On the other hand, if you're close to a state highway, and your child has a
>> reasonable chance of getting too close to 60 mph traffic, a sign makes a
>> good deal of sense to me.
>>
>> In between those extremes, the choice gets tougher. There are various pros
>> and cons. Among the other factors-- what is the chance that your child might
>> ever (even just once) walk out of the house without her cane? Does that
>> sound absurd? A few times, our daughter has decided to go exploring without
>> her cane. I recall once, her announcing she doesn't care to be blind and
>> dropping her cane and walking off... We caught her before she got too far,
>> and we DO live on a quiet cul-de-sac, but if we didn't, such a sign might
>> have saved her life. In our case also, once in a while, I have seen our
>> daughter get mad and sort of stomp off without regard to where the street
>> may be. It only takes one such mistake to cause a tragedy. Maybe such a sign
>> alerts the right driver at the right time, or locals are more aware, so they
>> react more appropriately when something like that happens. This is not an
>> exact science.
>>
>> It is absolutely true that drivers should be careful, especially in
>> neighborhoods where there are (any) children. But that sort of leads to the
>> question of why there are laws that say people have to stop for a person
>> with a white cane. Questioning that may sound silly, but stay with me for a
>> moment...
>>
>> I have checked in a few locations, reading about laws that say drivers have
>> to stop for a white cane. In each case where I checked, the same locations
>> also had laws which require cars to stop for ALL pedestrians. So why the
>> extra law for the blind? My guess is it makes sense to underscore the need
>> for drivers to be extra cautious when they see a white cane. Now that's not
>> about just kids, it is about adults too. Some may argue it makes blind
>> people look less capable. Perhaps, but it may also keep at least some less
>> able blind people safer. How far should one take this anyhow?-- Maybe
>> someone could paint their cane blue or black to avoid drawing attention to
>> it so they will be more likely to be treated like everyone else. I'm
>> certainly not aware of any legal REQUIREMENT for a blind person to use a
>> WHITE cane. That would be pretty absurd, right? I mean, canes are a choice
>> in the first place. So by choosing a white cane, we are all using "signs" of
>> a sort (and by choice) to begin with. The question is how much we want to
>> alert drivers and by what means...
>>
>> Should our kids be able to know where the road is and to avoid traffic when
>> they hear cars coming? Sure they should. But where's the harm in being extra
>> careful? Maybe our kids all know what to listen for, except someone is
>> approaching with a super-quiet electric vehicle, or flying down a hill
>> pedaling on a bike.
>>
>> Some have suggested posting a sign makes others aware there are kids to be
>> preyed upon. Well, that may be true, but then a child walking down the same
>> road with a white cane may do the same thing, right? We can't keep our kids
>> in bubble wrap for life... Could the signs be an embarrassment for the
>> child? Sure, I can see that after a certain age, so again, back to pros and
>> cons.
>>
>> One final thought: My daughter is 10. I couldn't begin to count the number
>> of people over the years, especially when she was a bit younger, who asked
>> why she has a cane. It seems she doesn't "look" blind at all. These are all
>> people who saw her standing or walking, and they were doing likewise. Maybe
>> call each of these a "low speed encounter". Now replay that situation with
>> someone in a car at 60 or 40 or even just 20 miles per hour. Assume the
>> child always has a cane that can ALWAYS be seen... and how likely is that,
>> for example... especially from behind? Will every single driver instantly
>> think, "oh, that child has a cane and is blind, I must be careful and watch
>> her". My guess is "no". Some, perhaps even MOST will, but it just takes one
>> confused person trying to figure things out.
>>
>> I know I seem to have the minority opinion here, and I am speaking more in
>> general terms as I don't know (or have overlooked) the particulars of this
>> situation, but I say there are absolutely situations where such a sign makes
>> sense.
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Feb 22, 2013, at 9:58 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Agreed, I can't possibly imagine what benefit such a sign could have
>>> and it could potentially do a lot of harm to how she feels about
>>> herself and how others feel about her and her blindness.
>>> Drivers should be careful in neighborhoods where children might be out
>>> and about, regardless of whether or not the kids have "special needs".
>>> Perhaps a sign would make drivers be more careful, but then, using
>>> that logic, maybe every family with young children who walk themselves
>>> to school should get a "special needs" sign?
>>> If she has appropriate O&M skills and age-appropriate supervision, she
>>> shouldn't be in any more danger walking to school than any other
>>> child.
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>> On 2/22/13, Carly B <barnesraiser at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi Merry-Noel,
>>>>
>>>> I've thought about this, too. There are a couple of signs on streets
>>>> near
>>>> our own. We have not pursued trying to get a sign for our neighborhood.
>>>> I
>>>> haven't really thought that through, I think it's just a gut feeling that
>>>> I
>>>> don't want to put more of a spotlight on my child than there already is.
>>>> Know what I mean? I'm not really sure the benefits of having a sign...
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for bringing it up. I look forward to hearing what others think!
>>>>
>>>> :) Carolynn
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 7:40 PM, Merry-Noel Chamberlain
>>>> <owinm at yahoo.com>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>> My daughter, Ashleah, is working on a girl scout project and would like
>>>>> to
>>>>> know your thoughts about the "Special Needs" sign.  She is blind and
>>>>> walks
>>>>> to and from school independently.  Do you think having a Special Needs
>>>>> sign
>>>>> by our house is a good thing?  Why or why not?
>>>>> Thanks.
>>>>> Merry-Noel
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