[il-talk] Blind Driver Challenge

[Edwin Rodriguez]

Well said. 

-----Original Message-----
From: il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of AZNOR99 at aol.com
Sent: February 03, 2011 12:23 AM
To: gvilla at wideopenwest.com; il-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [il-talk] Blind Driver Challenge

Thanks, George,
 
The BDC was a lot of fun, and it was such a pleasant surprise to look up and
see Linda waving at me and shouting my name as I walked past the NFB Grand
Stand.  It was awesome hanging out with you at the pizza party as  well.
 
I got some fun pictures of the car, including one of those super model poses
where I'm leaning over the hood.  The NFB had a booth where people  could
change a tire with sleep shades on.  Some people did it in less than  30
seconds.  I heard someone say that anyone working in the pitt at a race
should be required to get training on how to change tires blind from us, as
it'd reduce the time cars have to spend off the track.  
 
The unintended aspect of the BDC, I believe, was that people got to brush up
on their mobility skills.  The Daytona race track is 3.5 miles long, and the
fare grounds are in the center.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to
where anything is.  Our booth and grand stand were both in the Sprint Fan
Zone (opposite ends).  The problem was that there was a Sprint Fan Deck,
Sprint Fan Fair, Sprint Fan Patio, and on and on.  Then, pretty much
everyone who worked the event was driving an official car or golf cart
inside the fare grounds, sharing space with the 35,000 race attendees who
were  on foot.  Many of the cars were actual race cars, which made using
audio  cues for mobility quite challenging.  Finally, none of the park staff
seemed to know where anything was, especially the parking lot where our
buses  and cars were, our grand stand, our booth (though they all seemed to
know where our car was).  So we wandered around a lot.  Everyone had a story
about how they got lost or misdirected, or just outright confused.  I'm
convinced when we go to Orlando, we'll be able to go to Daytona and pick up
Federationists who are still wandering around the racetrack.
 
At any rate, it was a lot of fun, and it was incredible to witness such an
important moment in our organization's history.
 
Ronza
 
 
 
In a message dated 1/30/2011 11:01:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
gvilla at wideopenwest.com writes:

Hello  All

Linda and I spent two exciting days with the NFB in Daytona.   The meeting 
on
Friday night was filled with anticipation.   It  felt like a pep rally and
really fired up the NFB members in  attendance.  The speakers left us with a
feeling of confidence and  expectations for the coming day's history making
event.  For the first  time a blind person would enter a car as a driver and
not a  passenger.  A blind person would be in control of a car.   Mark
Ricobono, the driver, would control the speed of the vehicle, make  turns
and
avoid objects.   Just think how that would feel.   At the end of the evening
we were all given purple and white shirts to wear  on Saturday.
Saturday morning busses were lined up to take us to the race  track.  As
many years that Linda and I have been coming to Daytona we  had never been
to the
track.  So this was a first for us.    
A lot of behind the scenes work was done between the NFB and the  track
management and it showed.  A seating area was reserved for us as  a group.
Feelings ran high.  NFB members were singing and dancing as  we waited for
the Blind Drivers Challenge to begin.  Excitement filled  the air.  As the
beginning of the drive came near Kevin Worley made an  announcement from the
audio booth and cheers went up.  Kevin did a  great job keeping us informed
of each and every step of the  race.   We were told each step of the way as
Mark was handed the  keys, as he started the vehicle, and then the drive
began.  It seemed  like a life time, but then there he was turning the
corner right in front  of us.  The excitement as he passed the NFB
grandstand  was
electrifying.   After the drive we went to the media  center.   It was
standing room only.  We heard from Dr. Mark  Mauer, Kevin Worley, one of the
technicians from Virginia tech, and of  course our driver Mark Ricobono.
Many other people spoke and worked hard to  make this event possible I'm
sure
I left out some important names.   The rest of the afternoon was spent at 
the
track.  We met NFB members  from around the country, sampled some great
chili from the chili cook off  and enjoyed the great weather. 
Saturday evening we shared more NFB  fellowship at a pizza party with all in
attendance.   We were at  tables for ten at the pizza party and who happened
to sit next to us,  Chicago Chapter member Ronza Othman.  We had a nice
visit with  her.  Everyone was abuzz from the day's history making event.  
Saturday's events proved with technology, appropriate training and education
the blind are capable of many things.  We can expand our  productivity and
participation in society.   It was a great day  for the NFB and blind people
as a whole.   
I have attached  pictures from Saturday's events.   There are pictures of  
the
excited crowd in the grandstands, speakers, and of course the car  driven by
Mark as it passed us on the course.  The car was on display  and we were
able to get up close to the vehicle and took pictures of the  outside and
the inside of the car.  Engineers from Virginia tech were  on hand and I was
able to ask questions about the car.  In one of the  pictures I am holding
one of the control gloves that is used to control the  vehicle.  The gloves
seemed like an ordinary pair of work gloves but  has an extraordinary system
attached to it.  A second picture is of  the car seat, again an ordinary
looking seat pad with unbelievable  technology behind it.  Another picture
shows a computer in the rear  hatch of the vehicle.  This computer controls
the sensors that enable  the blind to interpret the input that goes into the
gloves and seat.   There is even a shot of fellow chapter member Steve
Hastalis in the  grandstand.  Unfortunately the crowd and area was so big we
never  caught site of Steve again. There are even a few shots of Linda  and
me.      


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