[Massachusetts-NFB] Resolution for NFB Convention re Traffic Signs Warning Drivers about Blind Pedestrians

Sun Jul 6 19:55:46 UTC 2025

Sorry; I even misspelled my name because I was in a hurry.

Jeanette

From: Massachusetts-NFB <massachusetts-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Justin Salisbury via Massachusetts-NFB
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2025 3:46 PM
To: 'NFB of Massachusetts E-mail List' <massachusetts-nfb at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>
Subject: [Massachusetts-NFB] Resolution for NFB Convention re Traffic Signs Warning Drivers about Blind Pedestrians

Hi everyone,

I’m writing to tell you about a resolution that I’ve written for the NFB national convention. I am hopeful that I can have everyone’s support on this. 

As many of us here probably know, cities and towns sometimes put up traffic signs that function specifically to warn drivers about the possible presence of blind pedestrians. This is most common, in my experience, near training centers for the blind, state VR agencies, libraries for the blind, or schools for the blind. The traffic sign may read “Watch for the Blind” or “Blind Pedestrian Crossing” or something like that. Sometimes, these signs get put up near the homes of blind children, and they might read “Blind Child.” 

When I was a sighted kid, I remember seeing signs that said “Blind driveway,” and I thought at the time that this meant that blind drivers lived there. That is not what this is about because those signs are not about blind people. 

Many of these signs are used to focus on blindness as a reason that drivers should be careful. This harnesses low expectations for blind people to make the case, as if sighted pedestrians were not also worth protecting. If it’s a school for the blind, telling drivers that it’s a school zone should be sufficient. They shouldn’t be speeding there because there are children going to school there, period. Blindness does not need to be part of the sign. 

When local NFB chapters fight to get signs like these removed, it can be a long and arduous process. To make things a little bit easier, this resolution urges the National Highway Administration to add guidance in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) that discourages the use of signs that specifically alert drivers to the existence of blind pedestrians and instead recommend signs that are inclusive to both sighted pedestrians and blind pedestrians without regard to eyesight. Since many traffic control bureaucrats use the MUTCD as their primary manual, having guidance in there that aligns with the NFB chapter’s case will help make that advocacy easier. 

These decisions and advocacy processes take place on a local level, but we can do our part in the NFB to work with the relevant national entity to put our stance into their primary manual. 

I am now attending a PhD program at the University of Minnesota, and I am currently staying in Minneapolis. In Minneapolis, there were some traffic signs like this near a training center for the blind that had also relocated to another city. The signs remained after the training center left. This is not the NFB training center here but another one. We found out about these signs because they’re in my neighborhood. Earlier this year, we were able to make the case with our local city council to get those signs removed pretty easily because the training center was no longer there, but not all local chapters have it that easy. 

This message is to alert you to the topic of this resolution so that you can think about whatever you may want to say about it if you feel compelled. If you have any thoughts for me, I’m happy to hear them on or off list. 

Here is the text of the resolution, followed by the link to it:

RESOLUTION 2025-02 Regarding Traffic Signs that Warn Drivers about Blind Pedestrians

WHEREAS, with proper training, blind people can learn how to cross streets safely and independently; and

WHEREAS, to avoid collisions, drivers must be aware of pedestrians, regardless of whether the pedestrians are blind or sighted; and

WHEREAS, some cities and states have installed traffic signs to warn drivers of the presence of blind pedestrians, especially near vocational rehabilitation agencies, schools, and libraries for the blind; and,

WHEREAS, such signs exist to alert drivers to the potential street crossings of wildlife or children, which have limited capacity to obey traffic laws; and

WHEREAS, the messages sent by these signs about the ineptitude of blind pedestrians are inaccurate and contribute to the systemic marginalization of blind people; and

WHEREAS, other types of signs that are inclusive to sighted pedestrians are equally useful in warning drivers about our presence, such as school zone signs near schools for the blind and children at play signs near homes of blind children; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Highway Administration issues guidelines regarding the wording of traffic signs, including those related to pedestrians, in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD); and

WHEREAS, city and state officials often consult the MUTCD when making decisions about traffic signs: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this twelfth day of July, 2025, in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, that this organization urge the Federal Highway Administration to include guidance in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to discourage the use of traffic signs that specifically warn drivers of the potential presence of blind pedestrians because of how these signs perpetuate low expectations and inaccurate ideas about blindness and instead encourage the use of traffic signs that are inclusive to both blind and sighted pedestrians.  

https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2025-resolutions#2

See you in New Orleans!

Justin Salisbury

>From Athol, Massachusetts

JAWS should pronounce it, Ath all

Justin MH Salisbury, MEd, NOMC, NCRTB

English Pronouns: He/Him/His

Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu <mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>  

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury&source=gmail-imap&ust=1727538746000000&usg=AOvVaw3uZJqqJkT2wSVxJDa9dD7W> 

LinkedIn:  <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury&source=gmail-imap&ust=1727538746000000&usg=AOvVaw0XtyTG9WXXQ8TWe6UeU4Nz> https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1786-2786

“Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”

Chinua Achebe

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