[nfbmi-talk] Something to Ponder - Could this be an NFB future Meet the Blin Project Event?d

[Terry D. Eagle]

Train the Drivers

 

Drive to help blind people get on the road to freedom. The Guardian (10/21)

                        Training scheme teaches taxi drivers and other firms
how to respond to needs of visually impaired customers

 

                   *         The Guardian
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian> , Tuesday 21 October 2014 10.00 EDT

 

 

 

                        Drivers Alec Eve, left, and Peter Lowe at Delta
Taxis in Liverpool, who have been trained in dealing with visually impaired
passengers. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

 

                        “If I get into a taxi, I can tell if the driver has
been on one of the courses,” says Dennis Callaghan, 96, from Walton in
Liverpool. “They immediately want to help, from the minute they see my two
white sticks. They ask me if I need assistance, and when we get to the
destination, they’ll usually get out to help me. It’s the difference in
tone. They’re definitely more confident about taking a blind passenger.”

 

                        For blind and partially sighted people, especially
the considerable number who find public transport unfeasible, a decent taxi
service is often crucial for their freedom and control over their daily
lives. It may seem obvious, but for visually impaired people, getting a taxi
is actually quite complicated and often nerve-wracking, explains Diane
Lister, 57, who is registered blind.

 

                        “When the driver rings to say they’ve arrived, you
won’t know where on the road they are. They’ll wait for you, wondering where
you are, while you try and make yourself visible and hope they’ll come up to
you. Then when you are getting into the car, they tend to think you’ll be
fine opening the door, but you won’t know if you need to bend down. They
usually want to get away quickly, which can make you feel hurried and
anxious. What you need is a person who understands you, who will knock, tell
you who they are, take you by the elbow or arm and escort you to the car –
telling you about any steps or stairs in the way.”

 

                        Guide dogs can add additional stress. “Mine is a
golden retriever and might get her tail or her paw stuck in the door.”

 

                        But a new training scheme for taxi drivers aims to
improve blind passengers’ experiences. “One thing I tell people is that a
bad experience with a taxi driver can mean someone ends up not going out at
all, because their confidence has been so knocked back,” says Mike Bailey,
service director atChristopher Grange Visual Rehabilitation Centre
<http://catholicblindinstitute.org/christophergrange>  in Liverpool. In
2012, Bailey and his colleagues started devising a training scheme for taxi
drivers and offered it to local firm Delta. As with the schemes Christopher
Grange provides to students and police officers, this is a bespoke course in
specific things that taxi drivers need to think about and do when collecting
and dropping off visually impaired passengers.

 

                        The training consists of a packed two hours, offered
to 12 drivers at a time (costing £20 each). It starts with a tour of the
centre and a quick overview of blindness and some of the most common eye
conditions. Then the drivers are blindfolded and introduced to a “mystery
guest” (one of the blind people who use the rehabilitation centre) and asked
to guess a bit about them. After that – still blindfolded – they are asked
to make themselves drinks and one by one are taken out to get their cab.
“When you can’t see where you are you get a glimpse of what it is like to
have to cope. They asked us to go from our classroom to a car, down a
corridor and through the double doors, first with another person and then on
our own,” says Alec Eve, 46, from Liverpool. “It’s very different, getting
into a car when you can’t see the doors or even know how low down you’re
supposed to bend to get on to the seat.”

 

                        “A lot of what we learned is common sense, but it’s
things that wouldn’t occur to you on your own,” says Eve. “I’ve learned that
grabbing someone’s arm is actually quite unhelpful; and that rather than
automatically assuming a blind passenger wants assistance, we should ask
them what they need. We’ve also been taught about guide dogs, and how
they’re trained to a very high standard – they’re not going to make a mess
of the vehicle and they certainly won’t bite you. And that not everyone is
completely without any sight – that’s why my vehicle (pictured) has a lot of
high-visibility elements, so that someone who has some vision can see the
bits that are painted bright yellow.”

 

                        His colleague Steve Crawley, 45, was one of the
first drivers to take the training, and is now a huge fan. “I learned a lot
about what people go through in everyday life. I consider myself quite a
courteous person, but I realised that I’d made big mistakes in grabbing
people on the arm or the hip. These days I’m totally prepared for any
visually impaired person to get into my vehicle, down to a special blanket
for guide dogs. It’s the little things, like making sure you park on the
right side of the road and not somewhere that will put them in danger. I
make sure I know the person’s name so that I get out and ask for them by
name and I make sure passengers don’t sit directly behind me, but across in
the safest place for them to get out later.”

 

                        The course has gone from strength to strength. Last
year it won an award fromVisionary <http://www.visionary.org.uk/> , the
membership organisation for local independent charities that support blind
and partially sighted people across the UK. The centre is offering training
to other taxi firms too – with backing from the local council – and the
course has been accredited by the organisation Open Awards
<http://www.openawards.org.uk/> .

 

                        “I’ve never met anyone who said they wasted their
time coming: they’ll all say it was a pleasure,” says Tracy Finn, who is
blind. “They’ll always give you a round of applause. They’re a great bunch
of guys and if they ask a personal question, we’ll say no problem, they’re
here to learn. We just want to be treated normal, like everyone else. We’re
just trying to get back to everyday life.”