[nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being leftontrain in Brussels

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Hm...  Getting off a train and past all the obstacles and to the right place
to leave the station and find a human to talk to is kind of an impressive
feat to be described as 'stumbling."  I would not want to try this myself,
and I am certain that I would indeed stumble now and then if I somehow
arranged to find myself in such a situation.

In my own context, I am apparently so neurotically paranoid about finding
myself in that kind of situation that, in addition to my guide dog, I carry
a back pack of emergency supplies, the stuff I actually plan to use, and 3
to 5 spare canes -- if not more canes than I actually own.  /lol/  This will
surprise me when I have to dig through all the canes and other emergency
supplies to find something I need to actually use because I will remember
slipping one cane into my backpack, just in case I need it.

Waiting for someone to come to my rescue?  Again, not my style.  /smile/

Still, as others have pointed out, the information in the article doesn't
give us enough to really evaluate the ins and outs of this man's reasons for
taking the actions he did.  It all seems pretty foreign, frankly, but when I
remember that it was in what I consider a foreign land, it almost certainly
is.  /smile/

It will be interesting to see what happens here.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Lisa Irving
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:07 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being
leftontrain in Brussels

Wow. I'm trying to put myself in this fellow's shoes. The critical side of 
me contends he has a voice, and perhaps a cell phone. I also can't help but 
to wonder if he manipulated circumstances to slam the point home about guide

dog discrimination in Europe. I don't know. Obviously, we're not getting all

the facts.

I have a problem with this educated man describing his exodus from the train

as, "stumbling off". I can't imagine traveling without a cane as a back up. 
I understand his concern about the possibility of being denied a cab ride. 
Denial of Cab access is still an issue in San Diego. We have a large Muslim 
population and some of these folks drive cabs. Fortunately for those of us 
who live in a large metropolitan city, we have options; other cab companies 
we can call. My final thought is this. Do you suppose there are quarantine 
issues this man had to work around.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:35 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left 
ontrain in Brussels


> Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left on train
> in Brussels
>
> LEFT ALONE: Tom Pey, pictured here with his guide dogBy emma
> curry reporters at sevenoaks-chronicle.co.uk
> http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Blind-man-train-ordeal/article-3
> 231003-detail/article.html
>
> A BLIND man is threatening to sue Eurostar after he was abandoned
> on a train in Brussels.
>
> Dr Tom Pey, chief executive of the Royal London Society for the
> Blind (RSLB) and Dorton House in Seal, has accused the travel
> firm of disability discrimination.
>
> He was travelling to the European Parliament to press for
> improved rights for guide dog owners at a meeting of the European
> Guide Dog Federation, of which he is president, on Wednesday,
> February 2.
>
> He had left his guide dog in Seal, worried that Belgian taxi
> drivers may not want to take him, and was taken to the station by
> his secretary Alison Nield.
>
> Unable to get through the barriers, she asked a Eurostar employee
> to help Dr Pey on to the train and the train conductor to guide
> Mr Pey off the train in Brussels.
>
> But when they arrived, Mr Pey was left alone. He waited for half
> an hour before struggling out of the station himself.
>
> Dr Pey said: "It's really difficult to make your way around in a
> foreign country at the best of times, quite apart from being
> visually impaired.
>
> "I was also at a real loss without my guide dog.
>
> "I eventually managed to stumble off the train and remembered
> that the taxi rank was near a pizza restaurant. Only problem is
> there are two pizza eateries at Brussels station. It was most
> distressing."
>
> Ms Nield said: "I usually travel with him. Tom's quite brilliant
> but this situation was unacceptable.
>
> "It was luck rather than judgement that got him off that train.
>
> "At this end, Eurostar knew perfectly well he needed assistance.
> It's ridiculous."
>
> Tim Arnold, communications manager of the RLSB, said: "Eurostar
> are re-defining the word 'shameful'. They have a clear
> responsibility under the Equalities Act to make a reasonable
> adjustment for disabled people.
>
> "Tom's lawyers say he has a good case for disability
> discrimination."
>
> A Eurostar spokesman said: "This was obviously a distressing
> experience for Dr Pey and we have called him to apologise
> unreservedly.
>
> "Situations like these are thankfully rare, but are taken
> extremely seriously and therefore, together with our SNCB
> colleagues at Brussels Midi, we are investigating why this
> happened as a matter of urgency."
>
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