[nagdu] White Cane laws

[Jewel S.]

Here, here!

I have been hit by a car, albeit a very slow moving car, so I was not
injured very much at all. The car was backing out of a parking spot
after telling me to go ahead. He didn't look where he was going, and
his bumper struck me before I knew what was going on. I beat the trunk
with my cane and shouted at him, trying to scuttle out of the way (not
easy for me), but he would not stop. I would have fallen if someone
hadn't run up and caught me and another man knocked on the driver's
window, the idiot. I told them to get the license plate number, but
they did not. I was very upset. This was also a quiet car.

The Quiet Car Bill is something I have been watching very closely. It
is almost passed through to law. It is getting sooo close. When it
does pass, the government will be required to do a survery and figure
out a way for quiet cars to produce the sound needed by pedestrians.

I am very sorry about the loss of your guide dog, friend, and the
injury of your other friend. Your story is one of the many very real
reasons why the White Cane Laws were ut in place in the first place,
to save lives.

How many lives must be taken before the laws are enforced?
~Jewel

On 3/24/10, Albert J Rizzi <albert at myblindspot.org> wrote:
> Here here!
>
> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
> CEO/Founder
> My Blind Spot, Inc.
> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
> New York, New York  10004
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> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it."
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 1:07 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] White Cane laws
>
> Tracy,
>
> I'm so sorry!  I didn't know that had happened to you.  It must have been
> awful for a long, long time after the fact.  And I'm sure whatever recourse
> you received was not worth the loss.  I'm glad you're well and still living
> your life.
>
> While I am glad the white cane laws and pedestrian laws underlying them do
> give me some added rights and protections.  Greater awareness and greater
> enforcement does and will give us better odds of traveling safely through
> our daily lives.
>
> There will still be those people who disengage brain before turning key, but
> the more drivers who are aware of the law, of their responsibilities as
> drivers, and of the consequences of their not taking their responsibilities
> seriously when they're behind the wheel, the better off we'll all be.
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 5:23 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] White Cane laws
>
> Could we possibly get back to discussing better enforcement of White Cane
> laws, and drop all the sniping?  Or is it the concensus that the White
> Cane laws are outmoded, and we should just let them drop and ignore them?
> I'm not asking for someone else to be responsible for my safety, but I am
> asking that the drivers take their share of responsibility.  They are the
> ones in charge of the vehicle that is a lot faster and heavier than I am.
> I am especially concerned with new quieter cars becoming more common.
> I've lost count of the times my dog has stopped short, then I've heard the
> car whizzing by in front of us.
>
> I personally know 3 people who've been hit.  One was crossing with the
> light when a bus turned on top of her, and she was killed.  One was
> crossing a quiet street, when some old fool came speeding around a blind
> corner and hit her.  Now she has to use a wheelchair.  And one was me,
> trying to cross a street to get home during an ice storm.  There wasn't
> enough traffic, and there wasn't anyone around to ask, and I probably
> misjudged the traffic light.  My dog was killed.
>
> Two of these accidents could have been avoided, if the driver were paying
> propper attention.  We have laws on the books that say they should be
> particularly careful when a blind pedestrian is in the street.  I'd like
> to see greater awareness of those laws.  It doesn't seem so much to ask,
> to save a life.
> Tracy
>
>
>
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