[Quietcars] NFB article you should read.

Thu Jul 15 18:30:49 UTC 2010

Hi Michael,

Although I agree with the small numbers of future blind driver, I support their development efforts due to the poor performance of too many drivers. There are drivers (aka., like the blind drunk banker who jumped the curb and pinned a blind pedestrian a year and half ago with his jeep!) for whom an automated auto should be their only option. But I also look at these technologies as being needed in different degrees:

(1) Accident avoidance tied with automatic brake activation - this would make a step decrease in all accidents including pedestrian. This should be at least a safety option on all cars with eventually becoming a standard.

(2) Lane following - too many, middle of the night, single car accidents that seem to kill teenage drivers. Yes, some of them are just trying to see how fast they can go but sleepiness is another hazard.

(3) Adaptive cruise control - to end the tailgate menace.

Now I like and appreciate having a quality public transportation but this is unrealistic in rural areas and many parts of the South. For example, Huntsville shuts down the buses at 6:00 PM when they really need a 'drunk loop' that runs until a half hour after last call, 1:00 PM and we have about 200,000 people. Smaller towns have no chance of a reliable public transportation system.

Bob Wilson

----------------------------------------
> Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 15:50:00 -0400
> From: mrtownsend at optonline.net
> To: quietcars at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [Quietcars] NFB article you should read.
>
> Chuck, I don't mean to belittle any of the legislative efforts that have
> been put forth by our house and senate, nor to demean those who have worked
> tirelessly on crafting the hybrid legislation that is now before the
> representative for whom we voted, however, straying away from a mission on
> projects that will ultimately benefit a few peole and probably never become
> reality for all but a minute few seems pretty wasteful in time and money, as
> you've indicated.
>
> When the employment rate is about 30 percent of blind people, and the
> transit systems, home and business designs, accessibility in the workplace,
> on the streets and in theaters and on television haven't been improved
> significantly, this does seem a bit far fetched.
>
> While interesting, it's not a really mind blowing event that would allow me
> to stand up and cheer. Having said that, however, I love cars, and have
> been around them since I was a kid., Driving a Ford Escape four cylinder
> automatic really doesn't send me, if you know what I mean.
>
> I am sure that students worked hard on this, and the accomplishment deserves
> applause and recognition. But, I don't think that people who drive while
> blind, or DWB, are going to be a great percent of our nation's driving
> populous.
>
> I'll say no more on the project, as I've exhausted my thoughts.
>
> Thanks for writing in, chuck, and whether we agreed or not, this is a great
> discussion; unfortunately, not for this list, although the sponsor of the
> effort is your organization.
>
> ?this is why I thought that it was okay to post here.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
> Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 2:32 PM
> To: Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety
> Subject: Re: [Quietcars] NFB article you should read.
>
> I have to agree with you completely. Having been blind since birth I think
> that much more emphasis could be spent on improving public transit and
> working toward such things as personal rapid transit which is being
> experimented with in Europe and other places. I can only wonder how much
> money is spent on this activity that could be spent more effectively with
> greater results.
> Chuck
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "michael townsend" 
> To: 
> Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 7:32 AM
> Subject: [Quietcars] NFB article you should read.
>
>
>>I am a car nut and have loved cars since I was a young child. I listen
>>to car radio and television shows, read all I can on the net and ride
>>in and work on as many cars as possible, but here are my thoughts
>>about the below article which I have posted. This is a great idea,
>>however, it will benefit few in the long run.
>>
>> Mike T in NJ
>>
>>
>>
>> Rather than concentrating efforts on ludicrous things like driving a
>> car, which is a one person accomplish or an accomplish which will see
>> fw doing it, concentrate on training that will allow blind persons to
>> function in regular atmospheres, like corporations, or to allow one to
>> be self-employed to then lower the 70 percent jobless rate of the
>> blind or sight impaired.
>>
>> My thoughts, solely.
>> Below is an article that a TSE handler posted to another list. What do
>> you think.
>>
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>> 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 
>>  National Federation of the Blind to
>> Debut Car That Can Be Driven Independently by the Blind at Rolex 24
>> NFB, Virginia Tech, and Grand-Am Form Historic Partnership to Advance
>> Innovative Technology Daytona Beach, Florida (July 2, 2010): The
>> National Federation of the Blind
>> (NFB)
>> and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, College of
>> Engineering (Virginia
>> Tech) announced today that they have partnered to demonstrate the
>> first street vehicle equipped with technology allowing a blind person
>> to drive independently.
>> The vehicle
>> is scheduled to be demonstrated to the public as part of the pre-race
>> activities at the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The Ford Escape, equipped
>> with nonvisual interface technology, will be driven by a blind
>> individual who will navigate part of the famed Daytona International
>> Speedway course on January 29, 2011.
>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
>> "The National
>> Federation of the Blind is dedicated to the development of innovative
>> technology to improve the lives of blind Americans, and Virginia Tech
>> has accepted our challenge to apply nonvisual interfaces to the task
>> of driving, which has always been wrongly considered impossible for
>> blind people. But we are not trying to build a technology alone. We
>> are trying to build a technology that can be combined with an
>> intellect to do things that neither could do alone. We are pleased to
>> have the opportunity to demonstrate the fruits of our efforts before
>> the automobile enthusiasts and racing fans at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
>> This demonstration will break down the wall of stereotypes and
>> misconceptions that prevent our full integration into society by
>> showing the public that the blind have the same capacities as everyone
>> else.
>> Our
>> only challenge is access to the information we need."
>> Dr. Dennis Hong, Director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at
>> Virginia Tech,
>> said: "Three years ago we accepted the NFB Blind Driver Challenge to
>> develop a vehicle that can be driven by a blind person. The challenge
>> was not the development of an autonomous vehicle that could drive a
>> blind person around, but rather the creation of nonvisual interfaces
>> that would allow a blind person to actually make driving decisions.
>> The first-generation prototype was demonstrated with a modified dune
>> buggy at the NFB Youth Slam in the summer of 2009. We are pleased to
>> work with NFB and Grand-Am to demonstrate the second-generation
>> prototype at the Rolex 24 festivities."
>> "GRAND-AM is honored to lend its support to this intriguing-and
>> inspirational-project,"
>> said GRAND-AM Spokesman Herb Branham. "The Rolex 24 At Daytona is a
>> showcase for the latest automobile technology, making this race an
>> appropriate backdrop for the first public demonstration of a car that
>> can be driven by the blind."
>> The NFB Jernigan Institute-the only research and training facility on
>> blindness operated by the blind-has challenged universities,
>> technology developers, and other interested innovators to establish
>> NFB Blind Driver Challenge (BDC) teams, in collaboration with the NFB,
>> to build interface technologies that will empower blind people to drive a
> car independently.
>> The purpose of the NFB Blind Driver Challenge is to stimulate the
>> development of nonvisual interface technology. Undergraduate students
>> at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, under the direction of
>> Professor Dennis Hong, have been actively working with the NFB on the
> challenge.
>> During the summer of
>> 2009 the
>> Virginia Tech BDC team worked with blind students in the NFB Youth
>> Slam on the first-generation prototype of a blind-drivable vehicle,
>> and many of the NFB students had the opportunity to drive using the
>> first generation of the nonvisual interface. Dr. Hong and his students
>> are currently working with the NFB on the second-generation prototype
>> vehicle, which will integrate new and improved versions of the
>> first-generation nonvisual interface technologies into a Ford Escape.
>> For more information about the NFB, please visit www.nfb.org . For our
>> digital news release about the Blind Driver Challenge and the planned
>> debut of the BDC car at the Rolex 24, including audio and video clips
>> for television and radio, please visit
>> www.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit
>> .
>> ###
>> About the National Federation of the Blind With more than 50,000
>> members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most
>> influential membership organization of blind people in the United States.
>> The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy, education,
>> research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
>> self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today
>> and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened
>> the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first
>> research and training center in the United States for the blind led by
>> the blind.
>> C2010 All Rights Reserved - Copyright 2010 NFB Site Powered by
>> xCatalyst
>>
>> "I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself...but I
>> think I have a right to resent, to object to, libelous statements
>> about my dog."
>> -Franklin D. Roosevelt
>> Mike Townsend and Seeing Eye dog Brent Dunellen, New Jersey 08812
>> emails: mrtownsend at optonline.net 
>>  ; michael.townsend54 at gmail.com
>> 
>> 
>> Home Phone: 732 200-5643
>> Cellular: 732 718-9480
>>
>>
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>
>
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