[Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization of the blind?

[David Andrews]

Gary:

I agree with your message 100 percent -- just wondering what Thomas 
Jefferson had to do with electric lights (smile).

Dave

At 10:05 AM 1/19/2012, you wrote:
>There are many things that need to happen before blind people start driving
>independently.  One of the things we have to do is change the laws and all
>of the states to do away with the visual requirement that now exists.  We
>then have to convince the insurance companies that we are safe to ensure.  I
>note that recently, I believe in the state of Montana, legislation was
>passed authorizing the Google driverless car to operate on the streets and
>highways of the state.  That legislation could not have been passed without
>a vehicle to provide the evidence that the legislature used to decide it was
>safe or at least safe enough.  I think we face the same thing with the blind
>drivable vehicle.  How can any regulatory or legislative body take seriously
>the question of letting a blind person drive until we have technology that
>can give us the information we need.  How can we determine the information
>we will need without working on the technology, seeing how it fits, and what
>modifications we must make?
>
>Without trying to start an argument, I'd simply like to understand how we
>could proceed in any other sequence than we have.  Could Thomas Jefferson
>have pressed for regulatory change seeking the replacement of gas lights
>with electric lights before he had a working model?