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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Blinded driver vs. blind pedestrians<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>http://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/opinion-columns/blinded-driver-vs-blind-pedestrians/<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>March 18, 2016 <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Davis Enterprise - Letter to the Editor<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By Mike May<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On Feb. 23 at 7:45 a.m., my wife Gena Harper and I, both blind, were clipped by a vehicle while we were walking in the crosswalk north on E Street in downtown<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Davis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Toyota Highlander was heading south on E Street. It stopped at the stop sign and then made a left turn heading east on Fourth street. She turned behind<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>us, running over my heel and knocking Gena’s seeing-eye dog, Yulie, forward.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My dog, Tank, was guiding well in front and suffered no physical injury, nor did Gena. I doubt it would have made a difference even if we could see unless<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>we might have been able to dive out of the way at the last second.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The driver pulled over, as did a passer-by who saw the incident. The driver explained that the sun was in her eyes and she never saw us as evidenced by<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>the fact that she did not put on her brakes. Gena and I were halfway across the intersection when we were struck. The first part of that intersection was<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>shaded by a building. We were in that shaded area when she started her turn and then hit us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It would take about 3 seconds from the driver’s stopped position to complete the 90-degree turn. It is astounding that in that 3 seconds that she never<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>saw two people and two dogs in clear view. The obvious question arises, if you are totally blinded by the sun, why would you take the gamble to hurtle<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>a 5,600-pound vehicle at 10 to 15 miles per hour through the intersection?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I suffered a bruised and scraped heel. Yulie was not physically hurt but was quite scared. Everyone was shaken, including the driver. I hope she learned<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>a frightening lesson not to drive when blinded by the sun.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Another lesson came out of this incident: Don’t expect 911 to know your exact location when you call from a cell phone. Calls to 911 from a cell phone<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>may be routed to one of three entities when you are calling from Davis and they cannot identify your address the way they would if you called from a landline.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thinking the operator would know I was in Davis, I said I was at Fourth and E. The CHP operator who got the call transferred me to the Sacramento Police<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Department. I gave my location again and included Davis in the address at which point I was transferred to the Davis Police Department and gave my address<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and story for a third time. It took four minutes before this round-about emergency call was finished. Good thing the situation wasn’t life-threatening.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The 911 system was set up in the 1970s based on landline communication with one carrier. Seventy percent of 911 calls today are from cell phones from multiple<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>carriers. These 911 operators do not get your GPS position nor can they receive texts. The FCC reports that 10,000 people lose their lives each year related<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to poor 911 cell phone positioning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In retrospect, I would have used the BlueLight emergency app instead of calling 911 directly on my phone. This would have alerted my emergency contacts<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>by text of my location while also calling 911.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In some communities like Oakland, your BlueLight call is routed to local emergency services based on your exact position. Perhaps enhanced BlueLight service<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>will come to Davis sooner than later as a lifesaving emergency app. For now, I have programmed the Davis Police Department’s direct emergency number, 530-758-3600,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>into my iPhone.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Gena and I and our guide dogs missed being seriously injured by inches. Because there are so many pedestrians and bicyclists in Davis, this incident should<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>serve as a reminder for everyone to exercise more cautious judgment when driving, especially when the sun is in your eyes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Remember, too, if you are driving a hybrid or electric vehicle that they are very quiet at slow speeds, like starting up at an intersection or in a parking<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>lot. Blind and sighted people alike have been struck by these quiet cars.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The driver who hit us was not driving a quiet car but she was at a full stop when we stepped off the curb. Our seeing-eye dogs were doing their jobs and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>we clearly had the right of way. I don’t believe that being blinded by the sun or any other excuse justifies hitting pedestrians in a crosswalk.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>— Mike May is a Davis resident.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>