[nabs-l] [stylist] Instead of Cars, Jobs

[Sean Whalen]

There is absolutely no way that blind people will be driving cars on
America's roadways within 10 years, or 20 for that matter. I highly doubt
whether it will even be technically feasible in 10 years, but am absolutely
certain that such a system will not have gained the requisite widespread
public acceptance within that time frame.

Having a generation of literate blind children would open more employment
opportunities than a car operable by the blind. So will the slow, but
persistent, shifting of public attitudes relative to the capacities of blind
people. The idea that the existence of a car drivable by blind people will
all of a sudden create employment opportunities is, in my opinion,
misguided. I also don't by the idea that seeing a blind person operating a
vehicle will shift public attitudes significantly. I think people will be
impressed as hell by the technology, but am not convinced that they will
view blind people as any more capable.

I'm not saying that it wouldn't be nice to hop in a car and go where I want
to go when I want to go there, but there are a number of ways the resources
being poured into this project could be better spent. They have been
outlined here before, so I won't go into that here. I surely understand that
there will be advancements in technology made, which will benefit the
sighted and the blind alike, because of the ambitious undertaking of such a
project. The work that is being done is impressive, interesting and
innovative. It just seems to me that, given the fact that we are working
with limited resources, we could focus them elsewhere with more immediate
effect.

Sean