[nfb-talk] Tragedy in Denver

[Ryan O]

Mr. Hingson, I am continually amazed at your ability to turn every one of
your messages into a commercial for an NFB venture, whether it be the car,
the KNFB Reader or your book.

Be that as it may, I think its safe to say that there has been a good deal
of reactionary discussion on this topic, just as there is on every topic
that causes emotions to run high. At the end of the day, a guy died. That is
the central fact that causes tongues to wag and fingers to flutter madly
over the keyboard. A guy died because of an accident and he's never coming
back. His passing has shaken the people who knew him and they will always
carry a scar from this unforeseen incident. Two other women have been badly
injured and, though they will make a full physical recovery in time, the
emotional journey they are going to have to take will likely dwarf the
healing of their shattered bones.

When something like this happens, there is a tendency to blame. Some people
want to lay fault with the blind people. That's a time-worn song our weary
ears have heard too often. Others will want to blame the driver. When the
facts come out, she may bear some culpability, but it will likely be
minimal. Still others want to lay blame on the environment, whether it be
the situation of the bus stop, the condition of the roads, etc. It won't
surprise me but whether someone will take a shot at the manufacturer of the
SUV before this affair is all said and done.

At the end of the day, this was a tragic accident, pure and simple. One life
was lost and three others were irrevocably shattered because a young lady
lost control of her car on an icy street on a December morning. We can point
fingers all day long and come up with remedies that may or may not work, but
for my money, we may as well shake our fists at the sky and try to come up
with a way to prevent tornadoes, floods, hurricanes or earthquakes.
Accidents will happen and tragedy will forever leave it's mark.

Perhaps one day the blind will be able to drive a car. Perhaps technology
will be in place that will help the car avoid a collision. If so, that
technology is bound to fail and it will likely result in the injuries and
deaths of more people. When that happens, more fingers will start pointing
and the blame game will start all over again. No matter how secure you try
to make something, it can never be completely safe from human error.

In the meantime, the fallen will be honored, the wounded will survive and
the spirit will endure. Hell, maybe one of the survivors of the accident
will go on to write a book. You never know.

RyanO