On Wed, 3 Oct 2007, Charlie Bell wrote:
> > On 03/10/2007, at 10:23 PM, Jim Sharkey wrote: > >> >> Apparently, they're too quiet: >> http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?news_id=ap-d8s1n79o0&; >> >> The National Federation for the Blind is complaining that when the >> cars are running on solely electricity, blind people cannot hear them >> and it could be dangerous as they cross the street. > > ...oh no - ban bicycles too. Or possibly, blind people should cross > at pedestrian crossings with audible Walk signals... > > Charlie. Yes on the audible walk signals, and if those were common everywhere, that would be great. Unfortunately, in Austin, you can't find any of those unless you're within a mile of the State School for the Blind. :P (And my blind friend lives on the other side of the river from there.) Most of the cyclists I know are responsible and will use their bells if they're approaching an intersection with pedestrians waiting to cross. Banning bicycles is not the answer, penalizing irresponsible behavior by cyclists is. (Most cyclists tend to be significantly more safety-conscious than many drivers, I've noticed.) (And another complaint of mine, there's a standard for elevators -- when the elevator arrives, one beep should mean it's going up and 2 beeps for down. Some elevators don't do that, though, grrr....) Julia _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
