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Welcome back, today is Day 6 of the 31 Days writing challenge. Top of the morning to you!
Yesterday, I shared a bit about the last couple of years worth of my vision, how it has declined... and that I have had to give up driving. That was a difficult post. I nearly didn't finish it, and nearly didn't post it when I finally finished it. The post started out to be a few lines just hinting at my struggle with an aging parent, but ended up with me telling all, or nearly all, about my woes.
Well, in that spirit... I would like to talk a bit about getting around when you are blind.
It is pretty difficult. For myself, I can talk about the pain of giving up my independence, since I drove from an early age. I know how other people do it, but really, can't imagine having total blindness...For me, it has been difficult to not be in charge of where and when I do anything, from going to the grocery store to going to work, or just getting out of the house because I have cabin fever. You depend on other people. Or buses. Or taxis. Walking.
I know that a lot of people don't drive... but where I live... it is a necessity. The town is spread out widely, traffic is horrible, it is excruciatingly hot in the Summer, and until just recently, we didn't have public transportation.
Yep... no buses. When they did put them in, they proved to be more of an inconvenience than a help. They don't service the whole city, especially some of the areas with a great distance to grocery stores, or those that have aging adults.. or those with young kids. I would have to walk nearly a mile, which if I was younger, and it wasn't 100F+on many days... I complain, but it is getting hard to traipse around in the heat.
Heaven help you if you work early or late, the buses don't run. On my route, the first bus comes at 6:50 am the last bus... 5:50 pm. No joke. Saturdays it is something like 8:50-4:50, and none on Sundays... or holidays... Really? Yes, sadly enough... really.
How do you get around if you don't drive?
Well, most of the time, someone who is visually impaired will have someone help them, drive them or walk with them, or, if they are very independent, they will use a cane or guide dog, usually both, and take buses or taxis or walk... or... in my case, I do a combination of asking for someone to drive me, holding on to someone's arm... or using what vision I have to gauge the distance of objects... sometimes I fall.
We traveled to the UK and Europe a few years ago, after my vision had taken a big turn for the worse. I wanted to go again to be able to travel before I lost all vision. I really wanted to take my son and give him a chance to see where my father had been during WWII. I wanted to be there.
It was a very difficult trip, but one that I wouldn't trade for anything. I had a few incidents where I fell, some when I nearly did, and a few that I just felt so overwhelmed that I sat down and cried. I am sure that my son will have to visit a therapist when he gets older... He will regale the doctor of his experiences with his blind mother in distant countries... sigh...
I have a question... sincerely, this is a serious question. If a person is blind... how do they find the braille sign? Honestly. I have seen them in different locations next to bathrooms stairs, etc.. never in the same spot, always different heights, how do you know where to find the braille if you are blind?
These are the things that I notice. For years I've seen them and wondered. Traveling around the States, traveling in foreign countries... Isn't there a mandatory something or other that states where these signs are put? Really... really? There are rules for everything else...
OK, so a lot of people like myself don't use a cane. I have one, I just won't use it. I refuse to... If I am walking, I do tend to be slow, and if I am around traffic, I get nervous. I don't have a lot of practice walking around traffic. Where I live, the lanes of the intersections are really wide. Usually 8 lanes to get across... so even when I could see better, I didn't try to cross them. If I can't get to where I am going, I would call a taxi before trying to cross... but in some of the larger cities, it is easier to traverse the roadways. Crossing lights in many places have a beeping or countdown to the crossing, and you can judge when to cross by that, and hearing traffic is vital.
for the blind just finding the street is a challenge. Some of the ways include:
Then you have to assess the crossing, what type of control is there? Some of the questions you have to ask are:
I worry that I would never be able to find my way around when my sight goes altogether. It is really frightening... I mean, even if i used a cane, how the hell do you find the controls to the street lights? Do you hit a lot of people with your cane if the intersection is busy? when walking down the road... how do you not fall over bumps in the sidewalk? How do you avoid just falling headlong every few feet?
But I have to say, millions do it... I am sure I can.
The thing that got me when we were overseas... is that the curbs are different heights than in the States. We have pretty standard rules for curb height, and only in really old sections of towns and I suppose in Historical sites... there might be a difference. but for the most part, if you come to a curb, you know how far to step off. Generally.
We were in Bristol, England down in Stokes Croft, looking at artwork and I couldn't tell the difference between the sidewalk and the street, the curb was tiny, maybe an inch and a half to two inches, and they were the same color, I stepped right off and fell. I was more embarrassed than anything but it did hurt. Not long after that I nearly fell in front of a bus. I just couldn't get my bearings with the curbs. A few days later, I fell again walking down a pathway with small steps leading down to the
Eden River near Carlisle. I broke my new camera. I fell right smack dab on it. I was more worried about my camera than myself, that is until I tried to get up and
couldn't.That's when I started to wonder if I had it in me to travel anymore,
Tomorrow, I'll show a few more places we visited, and tell you how we got from place to place and navigated the ocean.
1. National Cooperative Highway Research Program-Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practices, Chapter 2, p.10
Welcome back, today is Day 6 of the 31 Days writing challenge. Top of the morning to you!
Yesterday, I shared a bit about the last couple of years worth of my vision, how it has declined... and that I have had to give up driving. That was a difficult post. I nearly didn't finish it, and nearly didn't post it when I finally finished it. The post started out to be a few lines just hinting at my struggle with an aging parent, but ended up with me telling all, or nearly all, about my woes.
Well, in that spirit... I would like to talk a bit about getting around when you are blind.
It is pretty difficult. For myself, I can talk about the pain of giving up my independence, since I drove from an early age. I know how other people do it, but really, can't imagine having total blindness...For me, it has been difficult to not be in charge of where and when I do anything, from going to the grocery store to going to work, or just getting out of the house because I have cabin fever. You depend on other people. Or buses. Or taxis. Walking. I know that a lot of people don't drive... but where I live... it is a necessity. The town is spread out widely, traffic is horrible, it is excruciatingly hot in the Summer, and until just recently, we didn't have public transportation.
 |
| Caen, France |
Yep... no buses. When they did put them in, they proved to be more of an inconvenience than a help. They don't service the whole city, especially some of the areas with a great distance to grocery stores, or those that have aging adults.. or those with young kids. I would have to walk nearly a mile, which if I was younger, and it wasn't 100F+on many days... I complain, but it is getting hard to traipse around in the heat. Heaven help you if you work early or late, the buses don't run. On my route, the first bus comes at 6:50 am the last bus... 5:50 pm. No joke. Saturdays it is something like 8:50-4:50, and none on Sundays... or holidays... Really? Yes, sadly enough... really.
How do you get around if you don't drive?
Well, most of the time, someone who is visually impaired will have someone help them, drive them or walk with them, or, if they are very independent, they will use a cane or guide dog, usually both, and take buses or taxis or walk... or... in my case, I do a combination of asking for someone to drive me, holding on to someone's arm... or using what vision I have to gauge the distance of objects... sometimes I fall.
 |
| Dunkerque, France |
It was a very difficult trip, but one that I wouldn't trade for anything. I had a few incidents where I fell, some when I nearly did, and a few that I just felt so overwhelmed that I sat down and cried. I am sure that my son will have to visit a therapist when he gets older... He will regale the doctor of his experiences with his blind mother in distant countries... sigh...
I have a question... sincerely, this is a serious question. If a person is blind... how do they find the braille sign? Honestly. I have seen them in different locations next to bathrooms stairs, etc.. never in the same spot, always different heights, how do you know where to find the braille if you are blind?
 |
Isigny Sainte Mèr, France |
 |
| Bristol, England |
for the blind just finding the street is a challenge. Some of the ways include:
- Curb or the slope of the ramp
- Truncated dome detectable warnings, if available
- End of building line and open sound of the intersection
- Sound of traffic on the street beside them (the parallel street)
- Sound of traffic stopping on the street they are approaching (the perpendicular street)
- Presence of pedestrians
- Presence of an intersecting sidewalk
 |
| Bristol, England |
- Is this a signalized intersection?
- Do I need to push a button to actuate the WALK interval? If so, where is the button?
- Is the button close enough to the crosswalk that I will have time to push the button, position myself correctly at the crosswalk, and reestablish my alignment facing the destination curb before the onset of the WALK interval?
- Which button controls the WALK interval for the street I want to cross?
- Does it stop traffic on one street, or all traffic?
- Do cars still turn during the WALK interval?
- Is there a second button on the median or crossing island that I must push?
- Will there be a surge of parallel traffic telling me the WALK interval has begun? Will I be able to hear it over other, concurrent traffic sounds?
I worry that I would never be able to find my way around when my sight goes altogether. It is really frightening... I mean, even if i used a cane, how the hell do you find the controls to the street lights? Do you hit a lot of people with your cane if the intersection is busy? when walking down the road... how do you not fall over bumps in the sidewalk? How do you avoid just falling headlong every few feet?
But I have to say, millions do it... I am sure I can.
The thing that got me when we were overseas... is that the curbs are different heights than in the States. We have pretty standard rules for curb height, and only in really old sections of towns and I suppose in Historical sites... there might be a difference. but for the most part, if you come to a curb, you know how far to step off. Generally.
 |
| Stokes Croft, Bristol, England |
 |
| Along the River Eden, Cumbria, England |
couldn't.That's when I started to wonder if I had it in me to travel anymore,
Tomorrow, I'll show a few more places we visited, and tell you how we got from place to place and navigated the ocean.
 |
| Bristol, England |
1. National Cooperative Highway Research Program-Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practices, Chapter 2, p.10
