[New-York-News] Dan Parker, a Blind Man, Breaks Driving Speed Record

[Mike Robinson]

[image: National Federation of the Blind logo and tagline live the life you
want] <http://nfb.org>

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
Dan Parker, a Blind Man,
Breaks Driving Speed Record

*Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (April 5, 2022): *Dan Parker, a blind
racecar driver, achieved the *GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS®* title for the
“Fastest Speed for a Car Driven Blindfolded” on Thursday, March 31. Parker
set a new speed record of 211.043 miles per hour on the runway at Spaceport
America in his custom-built Corvette, which included an innovative audio
guidance system designed to his specifications. The previous record was
held by Mike Newman of the United Kingdom, who achieved a speed of 200.51
miles per hour in 2014. Parker went blind as the result of a racing
accident that took place ten years before, on March 31, 2012, and graduated
from the Louisiana Center for the Blind seven years ago on March 31 as
well. The record attempt was made as part of the acceleration of the
National Federation of the Blind’s Blind Driver Challenge™ — an initiative
that aims to call attention to the importance of breaking barriers in
mobility and to demonstrate the incredible achievements of blind people. It
was sponsored by San Francisco-based zero emission self-driving company
Cruise and certified by Guinness World Records official Michael Empric.

The effort built on the inaugural Blind Driver Challenge event that took
place on January 29, 2011, when Mark Riccobono, now President of the
National Federation of the Blind, independently operated a modified Ford
Escape hybrid on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Mr.
Riccobono navigated the course’s turns and steered the car around dynamic
obstacles by following haptic prompts generated by input from the vehicle’s
GPS, cameras, and LIDAR sensors.

“Our Daytona Blind Driver Challenge demonstration changed the perceptions
of blindness held by society, including the perceptions that we ourselves
held as blind people,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National
Federation of the Blind. “It further demonstrated to the world that the
expertise of the blind is critical to the development of nonvisual vehicle
interfaces. NFB member Dan Parker has now raised the expectations of blind
people even higher by independently driving a vehicle faster than any blind
person has done before, proving that the combination of accessible
technology and our own capacity allows blind people to safely operate motor
vehicles even at high speed. This demonstration reinforces our
determination to work with Cruise and other partners to make cars that can
be operated independently by blind people on America’s roadways a reality.
Transportation is a critical barrier faced by blind people across the
nation and we seek the increased availability of all transportation options
in order to successfully live the lives we want.”

“With the help of my Federation family, my outstanding pit crew, and our
partners at Cruise, I am proud to bring the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title
for fastest speed for a car driven blindfolded to America,” said Dan
Parker. “We have not only demonstrated that a blind person can operate a
vehicle safely, but that we can do it at over two hundred miles per hour.
We hope this success inspires blind people and shows the world the
potential of modern technology like self-driving cars to help the blind
break barriers in everyday mobility and beyond.”

*###*
About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore,
defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and
support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing
vision, and more. Founded in 1940, the NFB is the transformative membership
and advocacy organization of blind Americans with affiliates, chapters, and
divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. We believe
in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them
into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at nfb.org
<https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=25438&qid=7038580>.
Contact:

Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=25439&qid=7038580>

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