[Njagdu] Blinded driver vs. blind pedestrians

Tracy Carcione carcione at access.net
Sun Mar 20 14:17:22 UTC 2016


Good on Mike for writing to the paper about this accident.  I'm glad he and
his wife are OK.  Last year in Maine, a blind person was killed by some
idiot driving blinded by the sun.  Grrr.

Tracy

 

 

From: Njagdu [mailto:njagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ginger Kutsch
via Njagdu
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2016 6:58 AM
To: New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Ginger Kutsch
Subject: [Njagdu] Blinded driver vs. blind pedestrians

 

Blinded driver vs. blind pedestrians

http://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/opinion-columns/blinded-driver-vs-blind
-pedestrians/

March 18, 2016 

The Davis Enterprise - Letter to the Editor

By Mike May

 

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

Davis.

 

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

us, running over my heel and knocking Gena's seeing-eye dog, Yulie, forward.

 

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

we might have been able to dive out of the way at the last second.

 

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

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

shaded by a building. We were in that shaded area when she started her turn
and then hit us.

 

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

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

a 5,600-pound vehicle at 10 to 15 miles per hour through the intersection?

 

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

a frightening lesson not to drive when blinded by the sun.

 

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

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.

 

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

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

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.

 

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

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

to poor 911 cell phone positioning.

 

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

by text of my location while also calling 911.

 

In some communities like Oakland, your BlueLight call is routed to local
emergency services based on your exact position. Perhaps enhanced BlueLight
service

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,

into my iPhone.

 

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

serve as a reminder for everyone to exercise more cautious judgment when
driving, especially when the sun is in your eyes.

 

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

lot. Blind and sighted people alike have been struck by these quiet cars.

 

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

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.

 

- Mike May is a Davis resident.

 

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