[nagdu] Question about crossing streets - hope this is guide dog related

[Larry D. Keeler]

That is a great idea!  For example, are drivers in Morristown or Columbus 
more aware of the significance of dogs than lets say Chicago or Seattle. 
Also, I've been asking a few folks in conversation which is more noticable 
and so far they say cane.  Unofficially, I'm getting that when they see the 
cane they automatically know what it means.  When they see dogs they have to 
look a little harder to notice the harness.  We could be just folks walking 
our dogs to them.  But of course in tghos cities where dog training is 
constantly going on, my hypothesis is that folks in those places will be 
more aware of dog teams.  Finally, those of us that have dogs not commonly 
used such as Holly and Mittsy, stand out and throw some folks off.  i've 
hheard many comments about not seeing dogs like Holly being used for guide 
work.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tami Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 1:15 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Question about crossing streets - hope this is guide 
dog related


> Marilyn,
>
> At first blush, I would say that a study about cane use only is not 
> enlightening about the same factors involving guide dog use. The death of 
> one guide dog team during a street crossing is tragic. However, it is not 
> statistically significant. /smile/
>
> I would be *very* interested in a similar study of guide dog use in 
> various areas. Would the findings be any different in one part of the 
> country over another? Are there factors in color of dog, reflective 
> stripes on the harness and/or handle, harness signs, dress of handler, 
> dark glasses over no dark glasses, etc.? That could be useful information 
> for guide dog teams who want to increase their safety in high-traffic 
> areas. We can't control the drivers around us, but if we can give ouselves 
> an edge... That would be good information! /smile/
>
> Tami
>
> On 04/28/2012 09:41 AM, marilyn wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> yesterday I had a day off from work so I went to a library where  there 
>> was a guest speak there from the National Helen Keller Center who teaches 
>> mobility. He did a power point presentation and told us that when a blind 
>> or blind/deaf person tries crossing a street the driver pays more 
>> attention to a cane user than to a guide dog user. We were told they did 
>> some research in Maryland, Minnesota and I forgot the other state. They 
>> did suburbs and city. the man doing the presentation who can see and 
>> still drives a car did the research. he told us he has glaucoma. He said 
>> he dressed in regular street clothing , put dark glasses on and used a 
>> cane, then a flag and then held his hand up to stop traffic to cross.
>> They had a grant to do this study. I told him since every day I cross 
>> streets with my guide dog and have had close calls I would have been 
>> killed with a cane. My dog didn't go across until it was safe even if I 
>> give the forward command. I was told that a guide dog team was killed 
>> last year because the dog went forward and the person had a hearing 
>> problem besides being blind. I told him I cannot comment on what happened 
>> to this person because pedestrians who can see are hit by cars every day.
>> My question is do you think people who drive cars pay more attention to a 
>> cane user when your trying to cross a street or do people pay attention 
>> to a guide dog user?
>> I asked why a study wasn't done about guide dog users crossing streets 
>> and was told there wasn't a grant for that study since more people use 
>> canes than dogs.
>> Marilyn and Anna
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