[NHLakesChapter] Fwd: Dan Parker, a Blind Man, Breaks Driving Speed Record

Wed Apr 6 11:04:00 UTC 2022

I love this story! Very inspiring! Thank you for your email Jody.

~Kelley

On Tue, Apr 5, 2022 at 9:25 PM Jody ianuzzi via NHLakesChapter <
nhlakeschapter at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Forwarding
>
> JODY
>
> To Boldly Go  🖖🏻
>
>
> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>
> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>  Erik Weihenmayer
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* National Federation of the Blind <webmaster at nfb.org>
> *Date:* April 5, 2022 at 12:11:02 PM EDT
> *To:* Jody Ianuzzi <Thunderwalker321 at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* *Dan Parker, a Blind Man, Breaks Driving Speed Record*
> *Reply-To:* National Federation of the Blind <webmaster at nfb.org>
>
> 
>
> [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=7038481>.
> 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
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