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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Sorry; I even misspelled my name because I was in a hurry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Jeanette<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none'> Massachusetts-NFB <massachusetts-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Justin Salisbury via Massachusetts-NFB<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, July 06, 2025 3:46 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'NFB of Massachusetts E-mail List' <massachusetts-nfb@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT@alumni.ecu.edu><br><b>Subject:</b> [Massachusetts-NFB] Resolution for NFB Convention re Traffic Signs Warning Drivers about Blind Pedestrians<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Hi everyone,</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I\u2019m writing to tell you about a resolution that I\u2019ve written for the NFB national convention. I am hopeful that I can have everyone\u2019s support on this. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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 \u201cWatch for the Blind\u201d or \u201cBlind Pedestrian Crossing\u201d or something like that. Sometimes, these signs get put up near the homes of blind children, and they might read \u201cBlind Child.\u201d </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>When I was a sighted kid, I remember seeing signs that said \u201cBlind driveway,\u201d 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. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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\u2019s a school for the blind, telling drivers that it\u2019s a school zone should be sufficient. They shouldn\u2019t be speeding there because there are children going to school there, period. Blindness does not need to be part of the sign. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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\u2019s case will help make that advocacy easier. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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\u2019re 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. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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\u2019m happy to hear them on or off list. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Here is the text of the resolution, followed by the link to it:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>RESOLUTION 2025-02 Regarding Traffic Signs that Warn Drivers about Blind Pedestrians</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>WHEREAS, with proper training, blind people can learn how to cross streets safely and independently; and</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>WHEREAS, to avoid collisions, drivers must be aware of pedestrians, regardless of whether the pedestrians are blind or sighted; and</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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,</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>WHEREAS, city and state officials often consult the MUTCD when making decisions about traffic signs: Now, therefore,</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>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. \u2003</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a href="https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2025-resolutions#2">https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2025-resolutions#2</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>See you in New Orleans!</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Justin Salisbury</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>From Athol, Massachusetts</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>JAWS should pronounce it, Ath all</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Justin MH Salisbury, MEd, NOMC, NCRTB</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>English Pronouns: He/Him/His</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Email: <a href="mailto:President@Alumni.ECU.edu">President@Alumni.ECU.edu</a> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>ResearchGate: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury&source=gmail-imap&ust=1727538746000000&usg=AOvVaw3uZJqqJkT2wSVxJDa9dD7W">https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury&source=gmail-imap&ust=1727538746000000&usg=AOvVaw0XtyTG9WXXQ8TWe6UeU4Nz"><span lang=EN>https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>ORCID: <a href="https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1786-2786">https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1786-2786</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none'>\u201cUntil the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.\u201d</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none'>Chinua Achebe</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>