Greetings. I received the following story from an email list. This is potentially great news for audio book distributors and their readers. Call me crazy, but I like it. Removing the DRM protection will, in my humble view, help to accelerate book sales. Hopefully the book industry won't make the same mistake at the music industry did not that long ago. Enjoy.
Publishers Phase Out Piracy Protection on Audio Books By BRAD STONE
Reprinted from the New York Times
Originally published: March 3, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - Some of the largest book publishers in the world are
stripping away the anticopying software on digital downloads of audio
books.
The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely
transfer these digital files between devices like their computers,
iPods and cellphones - and conceivably share them with others.
Dropping copying restrictions could also allow a variety of online
retailers to start to sell audio book downloads.
The publishers hope this openness could spark renewed growth in the
audio book business, which generated $923 million in sales last year,
according to the Audio Publishers Association.
Random House was the first to announce it was backing away from
D.R.M., or digital rights management software, the protective wrapping
placed around digital files to make them difficult to copy. In a
letter sent to its industry partners last month, Random House, the
world's largest publisher, announced it would offer all of its audio
books as unprotected MP3 files beginning this month, unless retail
partners or authors specified otherwise.
Penguin Group, the second-largest publisher in the United States
behind Random House, now appears set to follow suit. Dick Heffernan,
publisher of Penguin Audio, said the company would make all of its
audio book titles available for download in the MP3 format on eMusic,
the Web's second-largest digital music service after iTunes.
Penguin was initially going to join the eMusic service last fall, when
it introduced its audio books download store. But it backed off when
executives at Pearson, the London-based media company that owns
Penguin, became concerned that such a move could fuel piracy.
Mr. Heffernan said the company changed its mind partly after watching
the major music labels, like Warner Brothers and Sony BMG, abandon
D.R.M. on the digital music they sell on Amazon.com. "I'm looking at
this as a test," he said. "But I do believe the audio book market
without D.R.M. is going to be the future."
Other major book publishers seem to agree. Chris Lynch, executive vice
president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio, said the company
would make 150 titles available for download in an unprotected digital
format in "the next couple of months."
An executive at HarperCollins said the publisher was watching these
developments closely but was not yet ready to end D.R.M.
If the major book publishers follow music labels in abandoning
copyright protections, it could alter the balance of power in the
rapidly growing world of digital media downloads. Currently there is
only one significant provider of digital audio books: Audible, a
company in Seattle that was bought by Amazon for $300 million in
January. Audible provides Apple with the audio books on the iTunes
store.
Apple's popular iPod plays only audio books that are in Audible's
format or unprotected formats like MP3. Book publishers do not want to
make the same error originally made by the music labels and limit
consumers to a single online store to buy digital files that will play
on the iPod. Doing so would give that single store owner - Apple - too
much influence.
Turning to the unprotected MP3 format, says Madeline McIntosh, a
senior vice president at the Random House Audio Group, will enable a
number of online retailers to begin selling audio books that will work
on all digital devices.
Some bookstores are already showing interest. The Borders Group, based
in Ann Arbor, Mich., introduced an online audio book store in November
using D.R.M. provided by Microsoft. Its books cannot be played on the
iPod, a distinction that turns off many customers. But Pam Promer,
audio book buyer for Borders, said the company welcomed moves by the
publishers and planned to begin selling MP3 downloads by early spring.
A spokesman for Barnes & Noble said the retailer had "no plans to
enter the audio book market at this time."
Publishers, like the music labels and movie studios, stuck to D.R.M.
out of fear that pirated copies would diminish revenue. Random House
tested the justification for this fear when it introduced the
D.R.M.-less concept with eMusic last fall. It encoded those audio
books with a digital watermark and monitored online file sharing
networks, only to find that pirated copies of its audio books had been
made from physical CDs or D.R.M.-encoded digital downloads whose
anticopying protections were overridden.
"Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent
piracy," said Ms. McIntosh of Random House Audio.
Amazon and Audible would not comment on whether they would preserve
D.R.M.
protections on their own audio books, citing Securities and Exchange
Commission restrictions surrounding the recent acquisition.
Sunday, May 25
Friday, May 23
Convention agenda released, with a twist
Greetings. For those interested, the 2008 NFB convention agenda has been released. This is the direct link to download the 3 megabyte Word document.
In going through the agenda, I see that there are a number of interesting meetings, sessions, and other items, in addition to the usual committee, division, and other group occurrances. One interesting item that I noticed at the end of he agenda was a thanks to a certain company/group for providing streaming services. Yes, after several years of various people requesting it, it appears that this year's national convention will be streamed live over the Web. No indication was given, but hopefully the sessions will also be archived on the NFB site for later retrieval and play. If you're hoping that every meeting/group item will be recorded, you might be disappointed. Only the Board of Directors meeting, General Sessions and Banquet will be streamed. If you want to know what goes on during the other times and days of the convention, then you might either attend and check it out for yourself, or read up on the convention round-up that will appear in the August/September Braille Monitor whenever it comes out. However, even with this small limitation, I'm very pleased and excited to see the NFB finally jump into the 21st century by streaming their convention, something that the ACB has done for many years and that the NFB has needed to do for some time now. To their credit, the NFB has streamed a number of state conventions, but as of yet not the national. So even if you can't attend for whatever reason, you can tune into the live stream and still keep up on the organization's business, interesting program items, and other information from the convention hall floor. I assume that more information will be provided as we get closer for tuning into the stream. That information wasn't in the agenda, but then again, if you take the time to read the agenda, its likely that you'll probably be at the convention. So why would you need streaming? enjoy.
In going through the agenda, I see that there are a number of interesting meetings, sessions, and other items, in addition to the usual committee, division, and other group occurrances. One interesting item that I noticed at the end of he agenda was a thanks to a certain company/group for providing streaming services. Yes, after several years of various people requesting it, it appears that this year's national convention will be streamed live over the Web. No indication was given, but hopefully the sessions will also be archived on the NFB site for later retrieval and play. If you're hoping that every meeting/group item will be recorded, you might be disappointed. Only the Board of Directors meeting, General Sessions and Banquet will be streamed. If you want to know what goes on during the other times and days of the convention, then you might either attend and check it out for yourself, or read up on the convention round-up that will appear in the August/September Braille Monitor whenever it comes out. However, even with this small limitation, I'm very pleased and excited to see the NFB finally jump into the 21st century by streaming their convention, something that the ACB has done for many years and that the NFB has needed to do for some time now. To their credit, the NFB has streamed a number of state conventions, but as of yet not the national. So even if you can't attend for whatever reason, you can tune into the live stream and still keep up on the organization's business, interesting program items, and other information from the convention hall floor. I assume that more information will be provided as we get closer for tuning into the stream. That information wasn't in the agenda, but then again, if you take the time to read the agenda, its likely that you'll probably be at the convention. So why would you need streaming? enjoy.
The blind doctor graduates
Gretings. I have seen several stories on the following gentleman over the years, but it appears that he has finally graduated from medical school. Even though there are lines in this article about the ability for him to compensate for his loss of sight with his other senses, this being a all too common myth I've encountered over the years, the fact is that he has done something that many people said he couldn't do--become a doctor. So, I submit the following article about one man's triumph to do what seemed to be the impossible, attend and graduate from medical school. Since there are no dates on this article, other than month references, I'm assuming that he has graduated this month. Apologies if that is wrong. Enjoy.
Blind student earns medical degree, sees no limits
Picture: Tim Cordes works in a lab at Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison.
Cordes, who is blind, graduated near the top of his med-school class.
By Andy Manis, AP
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The young medical student was nervous as he slid
the soft, thin tube down into the patient's windpipe. It was a delicate
maneuver - and he knew he had to get it right.
Tim Cordes leaned over the patient as his professor and a team of others
closely monitored his every step. Carefully, he positioned the tube,
waiting for the special signal that oxygen was flowing.
The anesthesia machine was set to emit musical tones to confirm the tube
was in the trachea and carbon dioxide was present. Soon, Cordes heard
the sounds. He double-checked with a stethoscope. All was OK. He had
completed the initiation.
Several times over two weeks, Cordes performed this difficult task at
the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. His professor, Dr.
George Arndt, marveled at his student's skills.
"He was 100%," the doctor says. "He did it better than the people who
could see."
Tim Cordes is blind.
He has mastered much in his 28 years: Jujitsu. Biochemistry.
Water-skiing. Musical composition. Any one of these accomplishments
would be impressive. Together, they're dazzling. And now, there's more
luster for his gold-plated resume with a new title: Doctor.
Cordes has earned his M.D.
In a world where skeptics always seem to be saying, stop, this isn't
something a blind person should be doing, it was one more barrier
overcome. There are only a handful of blind doctors in this country. But
Cordes makes it clear he could not have joined this elite club alone.
"I signed on with a bunch of real team players who decided that things
are only impossible until they're done," he says.
That's modesty speaking. Cordes finished medical school at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in the top sixth of his class (he
received just one B), earning honors, accolades and admirers along the
way.
"He was confident, he was professional, he was respectful and he was a
great listener," says Sandy Roof, a nurse practitioner who worked with
Cordes as part of a training program in a small-town clinic.
Without sight, Cordes had to learn how to identify clusters of
spaghetti-thin nerves and vessels in cadavers, study X-rays, read EKGs
and patient charts, examine slides showing slices of the brain, diagnose
rashes - and more.
He used a variety of special tools, including raised line drawings, a
computer that simultaneously reads into his earpiece whatever he types,
a visual describer, a portable printer that allowed him to write notes
for patient charts, and a device called an Optacon that has a small
camera with vibrating pins that help his fingers feel images.
"It was kind of whatever worked," Cordes says. "Sometimes you can psych
yourself out and anticipate problems that don't materialize. ... You can
sit there and plan for every contingency or you just go out and do
things. ... That was the best way."
That's been his philosophy much of his life. Cordes was just 5 months
old when he was diagnosed with Leber's disease. He wore glasses by age
2, and gradually lost his sight. At age 16, when his peers were getting
their car keys, he took his first steps with a guide dog.
Still, blindness didn't stop him.
He wrestled and earned a black belt in tae kwon do and jujitsu. An
academic whiz, he graduated as valedictorian at the University of Notre
Dame as a crowd of 10,000 gave him a standing ovation.
Cordes finished medical school in December but still is working on his
Ph.D., studying the structure of a protein involved in a bacteria that
causes pneumonia and other infections.
Though he spends 10 to 12 hours a day in the lab, Cordes also carried
the Olympic torch when it made its way through Wisconsin in 2002 (he
runs four miles twice a week) and has managed to give a few motivational
speeches and accept an award or two.
He's even found time to fall in love; he's engaged to a medical school
student.
But Tim Cordes doesn't want to be cast as the noble hero of a Hallmark
special.
"I just think that you deal with what you're dealt," he says. "I've just
been trying to do the best with what I've got. I don't think that's any
different than anybody else."
He also shuns suggestions his IQ leaves his peers in the dust.
"I just work hard and study," he says. "If you're not modest, you're
probably overestimating yourself."
Through the years, plenty of people have underestimated Cordes.
That was especially true when he applied for medical school and was
rejected by several universities, despite glowing references, two years
of antibiotics research and a 3.99 undergraduate average as a
biochemistry major.
Even when Wisconsin-Madison accepted him, Cordes says, he knew there was
"some healthy skepticism." But, he adds, "the people I worked with were
top notch and really gave me a chance."
The dean of the medical school, Dr. Philip Farrell, says the faculty
determined early on that Cordes would have "a successful experience.
Once you decide that, it's only a question of options and choices."
Farrell worried a bit how Cordes might fare in the hospital settings,
but says he needn't have.
"We've learned from him as much as he's learned from us ... one should
never assume that any student is going to have a barrier, an obstacle,
that they can't overcome," he says.
Sandy Roof, the nurse practitioner who worked with Cordes in a clinic in
the town of Waterloo, wondered about that.
"My first reaction was the same as others': How can he possibly see and
treat patients?" she says. "I was skeptical, but within a short time I
realized he was very capable, very sensitive."
She recalls watching him examine a patient with a rash, feel the area,
ask the appropriate questions - and come up with a correct diagnosis.
"He didn't try and sell himself," Roof adds. "He just did what needed to
be done."
Cordes says he thinks people accepted him because most of his training
was in a teaching hospital, where he blended in with other medical
students. One patient apparently didn't even realize the young man
treating him was blind.
Cordes grins as he recalls examining a 7-year-old while making the
hospital rounds with Vance, his German shepherd guide dog. The next day,
he saw the boy's father, who said, "I think you did a great job. (But)
when my son got out, he asked me, 'What's the dog for?' "
With his sandy hair and choirboy's face, Cordes became a familiar sight
with Vance at the university hospital. The two were so good at
navigating the maze of hallways that interns would sometimes ask Cordes
for the quickest route to a particular destination.
Some professors say Cordes compensates for his lack of sight with his
other senses - especially his incredible sense of touch. "He can pick up
things with his hands you and I wouldn't pick up - like vibrations,"
says Arndt, the anesthesiology professor.
Cordes says some of his most valuable lessons came from doctors who
believed in showing rather than telling.
"You can describe what it feels like to put your hand on the aorta and
feel someone's blood flowing through it," he says, his face lighting up,
"but until you feel it, you really don't get a sense of what that's
like."
Dr. Yolanda Becker, assistant professor of surgery who performs
transplants, noticed that Cordes had a talent for finding veins. "I tell
the students, 'You have to feel them ... you just can't look.' For Tim,
that was not an option."
Becker soon became one more member of Tim Cordes' fan club.
"He was a breath of fresh air," she says. "He appreciated the fact
people took time with him to feel the pulse, feel the grafts, feel where
the kidneys are. ... He asked very good questions."
Cordes' training included observing surgery, helping treat psychiatric
patients at a veterans hospital and traveling beyond the hospital walls
to the rural corners of Wisconsin.
For six weeks, he experienced the front lines of medicine with Dr. Ben
Schmidt, accompanying him from house calls to the hospital, tending to
everything from heart trouble to chicken scratches.
They took time, too, to indulge Cordes' passion for cars. Cordes, who
reads Road & Track and Car and Driver magazines faithfully, is a Porsche
fan. Knowing that, an internist in Schmidt's clinic brought her
husband's metallic gray Turbo 911 to work one day. Schmidt took the
wheel, roaring down the road with Cordes in the passenger seat - his
keen hearing detecting the sounds of the valves opening up.
Cordes also enjoys camping and canoeing with his fiancee, Blue-leaf
Hannah (her exotic first name comes from a character in "Centennial," a
James Michener novel). They met when both interviewed for medical
school.
"I was just mostly curious how he was going to do it," she says. "I must
have asked him a million questions."
"I figured she was just sizing up the competition," he teases.
She was impressed. "He was smart and pretty modest," she says.
"Handsome, too," he adds.
"Yes, handsome," she laughs.
They began dating and will marry this fall. It's a match made for Mensa.
Hannah is now in medical school. She already has a Ph.D. in pharmacology
- her dissertation was on a human protein implicated in heart disease
called thrombospondin.
"Too long for a Scrabble game," Cordes jokes.
The two have talked about starting a research lab together someday.
Looking back on medical school, Cordes says he savored the chance to
help deliver babies and observe surgery - things he's probably not going
to do again. "I just made it a point to treasure them while I had them,"
he says.
He once thought he'd become a researcher but is now considering
psychiatry and internal medicine. "The surprise for me was how much I
liked dealing with the human side," he says. "It took a little work to
get over. I'm kind of a shy guy."
Cordes plans to attend graduation ceremonies in May.
For now, he's humble about his latest milestone.
"I might be the front man in the show but there were lot of people
involved," he says. "Everybody was giving a good effort for me and I
wanted to do right by them."
Blind student earns medical degree, sees no limits
Picture: Tim Cordes works in a lab at Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison.
Cordes, who is blind, graduated near the top of his med-school class.
By Andy Manis, AP
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The young medical student was nervous as he slid
the soft, thin tube down into the patient's windpipe. It was a delicate
maneuver - and he knew he had to get it right.
Tim Cordes leaned over the patient as his professor and a team of others
closely monitored his every step. Carefully, he positioned the tube,
waiting for the special signal that oxygen was flowing.
The anesthesia machine was set to emit musical tones to confirm the tube
was in the trachea and carbon dioxide was present. Soon, Cordes heard
the sounds. He double-checked with a stethoscope. All was OK. He had
completed the initiation.
Several times over two weeks, Cordes performed this difficult task at
the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. His professor, Dr.
George Arndt, marveled at his student's skills.
"He was 100%," the doctor says. "He did it better than the people who
could see."
Tim Cordes is blind.
He has mastered much in his 28 years: Jujitsu. Biochemistry.
Water-skiing. Musical composition. Any one of these accomplishments
would be impressive. Together, they're dazzling. And now, there's more
luster for his gold-plated resume with a new title: Doctor.
Cordes has earned his M.D.
In a world where skeptics always seem to be saying, stop, this isn't
something a blind person should be doing, it was one more barrier
overcome. There are only a handful of blind doctors in this country. But
Cordes makes it clear he could not have joined this elite club alone.
"I signed on with a bunch of real team players who decided that things
are only impossible until they're done," he says.
That's modesty speaking. Cordes finished medical school at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in the top sixth of his class (he
received just one B), earning honors, accolades and admirers along the
way.
"He was confident, he was professional, he was respectful and he was a
great listener," says Sandy Roof, a nurse practitioner who worked with
Cordes as part of a training program in a small-town clinic.
Without sight, Cordes had to learn how to identify clusters of
spaghetti-thin nerves and vessels in cadavers, study X-rays, read EKGs
and patient charts, examine slides showing slices of the brain, diagnose
rashes - and more.
He used a variety of special tools, including raised line drawings, a
computer that simultaneously reads into his earpiece whatever he types,
a visual describer, a portable printer that allowed him to write notes
for patient charts, and a device called an Optacon that has a small
camera with vibrating pins that help his fingers feel images.
"It was kind of whatever worked," Cordes says. "Sometimes you can psych
yourself out and anticipate problems that don't materialize. ... You can
sit there and plan for every contingency or you just go out and do
things. ... That was the best way."
That's been his philosophy much of his life. Cordes was just 5 months
old when he was diagnosed with Leber's disease. He wore glasses by age
2, and gradually lost his sight. At age 16, when his peers were getting
their car keys, he took his first steps with a guide dog.
Still, blindness didn't stop him.
He wrestled and earned a black belt in tae kwon do and jujitsu. An
academic whiz, he graduated as valedictorian at the University of Notre
Dame as a crowd of 10,000 gave him a standing ovation.
Cordes finished medical school in December but still is working on his
Ph.D., studying the structure of a protein involved in a bacteria that
causes pneumonia and other infections.
Though he spends 10 to 12 hours a day in the lab, Cordes also carried
the Olympic torch when it made its way through Wisconsin in 2002 (he
runs four miles twice a week) and has managed to give a few motivational
speeches and accept an award or two.
He's even found time to fall in love; he's engaged to a medical school
student.
But Tim Cordes doesn't want to be cast as the noble hero of a Hallmark
special.
"I just think that you deal with what you're dealt," he says. "I've just
been trying to do the best with what I've got. I don't think that's any
different than anybody else."
He also shuns suggestions his IQ leaves his peers in the dust.
"I just work hard and study," he says. "If you're not modest, you're
probably overestimating yourself."
Through the years, plenty of people have underestimated Cordes.
That was especially true when he applied for medical school and was
rejected by several universities, despite glowing references, two years
of antibiotics research and a 3.99 undergraduate average as a
biochemistry major.
Even when Wisconsin-Madison accepted him, Cordes says, he knew there was
"some healthy skepticism." But, he adds, "the people I worked with were
top notch and really gave me a chance."
The dean of the medical school, Dr. Philip Farrell, says the faculty
determined early on that Cordes would have "a successful experience.
Once you decide that, it's only a question of options and choices."
Farrell worried a bit how Cordes might fare in the hospital settings,
but says he needn't have.
"We've learned from him as much as he's learned from us ... one should
never assume that any student is going to have a barrier, an obstacle,
that they can't overcome," he says.
Sandy Roof, the nurse practitioner who worked with Cordes in a clinic in
the town of Waterloo, wondered about that.
"My first reaction was the same as others': How can he possibly see and
treat patients?" she says. "I was skeptical, but within a short time I
realized he was very capable, very sensitive."
She recalls watching him examine a patient with a rash, feel the area,
ask the appropriate questions - and come up with a correct diagnosis.
"He didn't try and sell himself," Roof adds. "He just did what needed to
be done."
Cordes says he thinks people accepted him because most of his training
was in a teaching hospital, where he blended in with other medical
students. One patient apparently didn't even realize the young man
treating him was blind.
Cordes grins as he recalls examining a 7-year-old while making the
hospital rounds with Vance, his German shepherd guide dog. The next day,
he saw the boy's father, who said, "I think you did a great job. (But)
when my son got out, he asked me, 'What's the dog for?' "
With his sandy hair and choirboy's face, Cordes became a familiar sight
with Vance at the university hospital. The two were so good at
navigating the maze of hallways that interns would sometimes ask Cordes
for the quickest route to a particular destination.
Some professors say Cordes compensates for his lack of sight with his
other senses - especially his incredible sense of touch. "He can pick up
things with his hands you and I wouldn't pick up - like vibrations,"
says Arndt, the anesthesiology professor.
Cordes says some of his most valuable lessons came from doctors who
believed in showing rather than telling.
"You can describe what it feels like to put your hand on the aorta and
feel someone's blood flowing through it," he says, his face lighting up,
"but until you feel it, you really don't get a sense of what that's
like."
Dr. Yolanda Becker, assistant professor of surgery who performs
transplants, noticed that Cordes had a talent for finding veins. "I tell
the students, 'You have to feel them ... you just can't look.' For Tim,
that was not an option."
Becker soon became one more member of Tim Cordes' fan club.
"He was a breath of fresh air," she says. "He appreciated the fact
people took time with him to feel the pulse, feel the grafts, feel where
the kidneys are. ... He asked very good questions."
Cordes' training included observing surgery, helping treat psychiatric
patients at a veterans hospital and traveling beyond the hospital walls
to the rural corners of Wisconsin.
For six weeks, he experienced the front lines of medicine with Dr. Ben
Schmidt, accompanying him from house calls to the hospital, tending to
everything from heart trouble to chicken scratches.
They took time, too, to indulge Cordes' passion for cars. Cordes, who
reads Road & Track and Car and Driver magazines faithfully, is a Porsche
fan. Knowing that, an internist in Schmidt's clinic brought her
husband's metallic gray Turbo 911 to work one day. Schmidt took the
wheel, roaring down the road with Cordes in the passenger seat - his
keen hearing detecting the sounds of the valves opening up.
Cordes also enjoys camping and canoeing with his fiancee, Blue-leaf
Hannah (her exotic first name comes from a character in "Centennial," a
James Michener novel). They met when both interviewed for medical
school.
"I was just mostly curious how he was going to do it," she says. "I must
have asked him a million questions."
"I figured she was just sizing up the competition," he teases.
She was impressed. "He was smart and pretty modest," she says.
"Handsome, too," he adds.
"Yes, handsome," she laughs.
They began dating and will marry this fall. It's a match made for Mensa.
Hannah is now in medical school. She already has a Ph.D. in pharmacology
- her dissertation was on a human protein implicated in heart disease
called thrombospondin.
"Too long for a Scrabble game," Cordes jokes.
The two have talked about starting a research lab together someday.
Looking back on medical school, Cordes says he savored the chance to
help deliver babies and observe surgery - things he's probably not going
to do again. "I just made it a point to treasure them while I had them,"
he says.
He once thought he'd become a researcher but is now considering
psychiatry and internal medicine. "The surprise for me was how much I
liked dealing with the human side," he says. "It took a little work to
get over. I'm kind of a shy guy."
Cordes plans to attend graduation ceremonies in May.
For now, he's humble about his latest milestone.
"I might be the front man in the show but there were lot of people
involved," he says. "Everybody was giving a good effort for me and I
wanted to do right by them."
Saturday, May 17
Quiet car observations
Greetings. I received the following email from a list. The original list that this was posted on was the Quiet Cars list. Incidentally, if you'd like to join this list, send a message to:
Quietcars-request@nfbnet.org
And put the word subscribe in the subject of the message. Leave the body blank and send, then just reply to the confirmation message, and you will be subscribed.
***
Hi Everyone-
It's Larry Rosenblum writing - the perceptual psychologist conducting
research on quiet car audibility. I thought that as you contact your
congressional representative, you might find the following
information useful. Pasted below is an op-ed piece I wrote that's
been published in a few newspapers. The piece makes the following
main points:
1) Research shows that the human brain is exceptionally sensitive to
approaching sound sources.
2) This brain sensitivity means that the audibility of moving
vehicles is an issue for everyone, blind and sighted alike.
3) This brain sensitivity means that only a very subtle enhancing
sound for quiet cars, at only low speeds, will be sufficient to fix
the problem. Loud beeps or chirps will not be necessary.
Hope this helps,
Larry R.
Don't worry: Hybrid cars won't beep, chirp, or make the world noisier
It's a noisy world, and getting noisier. This is likely why there has
been such strong reaction to a new congressional bill designed to
examine whether hybrid cars should be made more audible for
pedestrians, especially the blind. But as a scientist studying the
problem and advisor to the Society of Automotive Engineers, I bring
good news. We can have it both ways. Hybrid cars can stay quiet, and
still provide enough sound to be safe for us all.
The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, introduced last month,
proposes a two year study determining the most practical way for
hybrid and electrical vehicles (EVs)-cars that are functionally
silent at slow speeds-to provide non-visual cues for pedestrians. The
solution will likely establish a minimal sound level for these cars.
The automotive industry will then have two years to incorporate this
change into new vehicles.
Sound noisy? Well it isn't, and here's why. First, hybrid and EVs are
functionally silent only when traveling in electric mode below 20
miles per hour. Faster than that, and all cars produce enough tire
and aerodynamic noise to be audible from a safe distance. Of course
it is at slow speeds that cars are closest to pedestrians, whether in
parking lots or backing out of driveways, and where the greatest
danger exists. But it is only at these slow speeds that some change
is necessary.
Secondly, only a subtle enhancement of sound will be needed. Hybrids
will not beep, or chirp, or produce an alarm. Beeps and chirps turn
out to be much more distracting than they are perceptually useful.
The enhancing sound, used only at slow speeds, will likely be either
the simulated sounds of a very quiet engine (think cooling fan), or
of rolling tires. For purposes of both auditory utility and simple
familiarity, the safest sounds are car sounds. And these sounds will
be barely noticeable for most of us. Not much sound is needed for the
auditory system to warn us about hazards, as long as it's the right
sound.
You have your brain to thank for this. The human brain is exceedingly
sensitive to approaching sounds. Research shows that when you hear a
sound approach-vs. recede or remain stationary-brain regions
associated with attention and motor action are quickly recruited. The
auditory brain also possesses a disproportionately large number of
cells sensitive to increasing sound loudness: one of the primary cues
for perceiving approaching sounds. Our brains have been designed to
use approaching sounds to avoid hazards. And this is true of
everyone's brains, blind and sighted alike.
This sensitivity of the brain likely means that we all use car sounds
to keep us safe, even if we are unaware of doing so. The auditory
system often works at an implicit level in warning of nearby dangers,
allowing us to concentrate on more conscious tasks. Your ability to
safely cross a parking lot while talking to a friend, manage your
children, or daydream, is facilitated by this implicit auditory
warning system. If there is too little sound to engage the system, as
is the case with hybrids at low speeds, then any normal distraction
becomes hazardous.
Thus, while the proposed bill was initiated by the needs of the
blind, a slight enhancement of quiet car sounds at low speeds will be
safer for us all. This will be even more true as the mean age of the
country increases, and more of us become sensory compromised. Perhaps
in ten years, we'll be thanking the blind community for making us all
safer.
While there are not yet definitive data showing that hybrids are
involved in more pedestrian accidents, these cars are still too new
for solid data to emerge. There are data however, suggesting that a
majority of the hybrid early adopters are particularly conscientious
drivers. But as hybrids and EVs become cheaper, and come in more
styles (a hybrid sports car appeared this year), a wider range of
drivers will be behind the hybrid wheel: a good reason to address the
problem preemptively. And needless to say, waiting for concrete
evidence of injury or death before addressing an obvious hazard is
not a sensible approach. This is especially true when the solution is
so simple and unobtrusive. Hybrids don't need to be made loud, they
just need to be made audible at slow speeds.
If you've not yet been surprised by the seemingly spontaneous
appearance of a moving hybrid in a parking lot or driveway, you will
be. Let's hope that when this happens, neither you or the driver are
talking to a friend, managing children, or daydreaming. Better yet,
let's hope you'll soon hear that hybrid make just enough quiet sound
so that you're not surprised at all.
--
Lawrence D. Rosenblum
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of California
Quietcars-request@nfbnet.org
And put the word subscribe in the subject of the message. Leave the body blank and send, then just reply to the confirmation message, and you will be subscribed.
***
Hi Everyone-
It's Larry Rosenblum writing - the perceptual psychologist conducting
research on quiet car audibility. I thought that as you contact your
congressional representative, you might find the following
information useful. Pasted below is an op-ed piece I wrote that's
been published in a few newspapers. The piece makes the following
main points:
1) Research shows that the human brain is exceptionally sensitive to
approaching sound sources.
2) This brain sensitivity means that the audibility of moving
vehicles is an issue for everyone, blind and sighted alike.
3) This brain sensitivity means that only a very subtle enhancing
sound for quiet cars, at only low speeds, will be sufficient to fix
the problem. Loud beeps or chirps will not be necessary.
Hope this helps,
Larry R.
Don't worry: Hybrid cars won't beep, chirp, or make the world noisier
It's a noisy world, and getting noisier. This is likely why there has
been such strong reaction to a new congressional bill designed to
examine whether hybrid cars should be made more audible for
pedestrians, especially the blind. But as a scientist studying the
problem and advisor to the Society of Automotive Engineers, I bring
good news. We can have it both ways. Hybrid cars can stay quiet, and
still provide enough sound to be safe for us all.
The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, introduced last month,
proposes a two year study determining the most practical way for
hybrid and electrical vehicles (EVs)-cars that are functionally
silent at slow speeds-to provide non-visual cues for pedestrians. The
solution will likely establish a minimal sound level for these cars.
The automotive industry will then have two years to incorporate this
change into new vehicles.
Sound noisy? Well it isn't, and here's why. First, hybrid and EVs are
functionally silent only when traveling in electric mode below 20
miles per hour. Faster than that, and all cars produce enough tire
and aerodynamic noise to be audible from a safe distance. Of course
it is at slow speeds that cars are closest to pedestrians, whether in
parking lots or backing out of driveways, and where the greatest
danger exists. But it is only at these slow speeds that some change
is necessary.
Secondly, only a subtle enhancement of sound will be needed. Hybrids
will not beep, or chirp, or produce an alarm. Beeps and chirps turn
out to be much more distracting than they are perceptually useful.
The enhancing sound, used only at slow speeds, will likely be either
the simulated sounds of a very quiet engine (think cooling fan), or
of rolling tires. For purposes of both auditory utility and simple
familiarity, the safest sounds are car sounds. And these sounds will
be barely noticeable for most of us. Not much sound is needed for the
auditory system to warn us about hazards, as long as it's the right
sound.
You have your brain to thank for this. The human brain is exceedingly
sensitive to approaching sounds. Research shows that when you hear a
sound approach-vs. recede or remain stationary-brain regions
associated with attention and motor action are quickly recruited. The
auditory brain also possesses a disproportionately large number of
cells sensitive to increasing sound loudness: one of the primary cues
for perceiving approaching sounds. Our brains have been designed to
use approaching sounds to avoid hazards. And this is true of
everyone's brains, blind and sighted alike.
This sensitivity of the brain likely means that we all use car sounds
to keep us safe, even if we are unaware of doing so. The auditory
system often works at an implicit level in warning of nearby dangers,
allowing us to concentrate on more conscious tasks. Your ability to
safely cross a parking lot while talking to a friend, manage your
children, or daydream, is facilitated by this implicit auditory
warning system. If there is too little sound to engage the system, as
is the case with hybrids at low speeds, then any normal distraction
becomes hazardous.
Thus, while the proposed bill was initiated by the needs of the
blind, a slight enhancement of quiet car sounds at low speeds will be
safer for us all. This will be even more true as the mean age of the
country increases, and more of us become sensory compromised. Perhaps
in ten years, we'll be thanking the blind community for making us all
safer.
While there are not yet definitive data showing that hybrids are
involved in more pedestrian accidents, these cars are still too new
for solid data to emerge. There are data however, suggesting that a
majority of the hybrid early adopters are particularly conscientious
drivers. But as hybrids and EVs become cheaper, and come in more
styles (a hybrid sports car appeared this year), a wider range of
drivers will be behind the hybrid wheel: a good reason to address the
problem preemptively. And needless to say, waiting for concrete
evidence of injury or death before addressing an obvious hazard is
not a sensible approach. This is especially true when the solution is
so simple and unobtrusive. Hybrids don't need to be made loud, they
just need to be made audible at slow speeds.
If you've not yet been surprised by the seemingly spontaneous
appearance of a moving hybrid in a parking lot or driveway, you will
be. Let's hope that when this happens, neither you or the driver are
talking to a friend, managing children, or daydreaming. Better yet,
let's hope you'll soon hear that hybrid make just enough quiet sound
so that you're not surprised at all.
--
Lawrence D. Rosenblum
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of California
Tuesday, May 13
Another trade-in program from FS
Greetings. I just read of another trade-in program for current HumanWare customers to obtain a new Pac Mate Omni, until October 31. Read more from Freedom Scientific on the official press release. At first glance, it looks like the prices being offered are better than the last trade-in program prices they offered nearly two years ago.
Personally, and this is just speculation, they may just be offering this trade-in opportunity out of the goodness of their hearts. However, again simply speculating here, I'm inclined to think that if they're giving an opportunity to trade in at reduced cost for a PM Omni, then there may be something juicy coming down the line for the Omni, perhaps in the convention season. Time will tell. As if having an Omni wasn't enough of an insentive, you also have this speculation to consider. So what are you waiting for? Trade in that old outdated BrailleNote for a brand new, versitile and Windows-like Pac Mate Omni! If you need more convincing, consider the fact that you don't lose any data if the battery runs down to 0, or if you perform a hard reset. Also, consider the words of a former BrailleNote user, Jonathan Mosen, as quoted in the press release link above.
Personally, and this is just speculation, they may just be offering this trade-in opportunity out of the goodness of their hearts. However, again simply speculating here, I'm inclined to think that if they're giving an opportunity to trade in at reduced cost for a PM Omni, then there may be something juicy coming down the line for the Omni, perhaps in the convention season. Time will tell. As if having an Omni wasn't enough of an insentive, you also have this speculation to consider. So what are you waiting for? Trade in that old outdated BrailleNote for a brand new, versitile and Windows-like Pac Mate Omni! If you need more convincing, consider the fact that you don't lose any data if the battery runs down to 0, or if you perform a hard reset. Also, consider the words of a former BrailleNote user, Jonathan Mosen, as quoted in the press release link above.
Tuesday, May 6
The end of an era
Greetings. The following is an announcement I received via email from the Media Access Group regarding the future in described videos. Basically, its short. DVS videos have played a big role in my life personally, and while the end of their video sales was not a surprise given today's technology and where we're going, it is the ending of a significant chapter. I haven't bought a described video from them in a few years, but I still have around 15 of them at my apartment, and another few at my parent's house that I chose not to bring when I moved. If you want to have a piece of history, then read on and perhaps even purchase some of the remaining titles they have. Links are provided where appropriate. Note that the end of sales does not mean the ending of their services. Enjoy.
DVS Home Video Sales Effort Comes to a Close
Deep Discounts Offered for One Week on Remaining Inventory
Boston, MA. May 6. DVS Home Video, a project begun by Boston public broadcaster WGBH in the early 90's to make movies on video accessible to the nation's
blind and visually impaired viewers, will end as of May 12. The Hollywood studios have ceased manufacturing VHS or tape versions of films for sale and
rental. WGBH's work to make media accessible via description goes on, with efforts focused on television, feature films in theaters, DVDs and online video.
The DVS Home Video effort, started over a decade ago with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, resulted in more than 300 videos made accessible
through narration of key visual elements inserted into natural pauses in dialogue. From the very first DVS Video's debut, the reaction of the community
was immediate and actually profound. Films came alive in a whole new way, and the eagerness for new titles only grew. Many of the videos sold over the
years were purchased by libraries and schools, which multiplied the number of individuals and families who took such enjoyment in described movies.
Films are now being distributed for sale and rental on DVD, BluRay DVD and through video on demand (either rental or download to own) services via the Internet.
WGBH's Media Access Group, home to the Descriptive Video Service, has been working to transition the home video efforts to DVD and to these online movie
delivery outlets. Lack of available memory space on DVDs has been stated as the reason why more description tracks, created for theatrical release in
the over 300 movie theaters with WGBH's Motion Picture Access® (MoPix®) systems, are not making the migration onto DVDs. WGBH maintains a list of DVDs
that have description tracks on them at the Web page listed with other description-related links at the bottom of this post.
Advocacy is needed from the community of description fans to make this transition happen. Please see the link below for a list of Hollywood studios' home
video/home entertainment divisions. Help show the providers of video on these formats that there is a market and that you would be willing to purchase
movies with a description track included as an optional feature.
For the next week (until May 12), DVS Home Video titles remaining in stock will be sold at a deep discount. Videos that previously were available for $15.01
and above will be sold for $10. Videos retailing for $15 and below will be now be available for $5.
To access a list of available titles, please visit the Web site
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/resources/dvs-home-video-catalogue.html.
To hear a list of titles, and/or to place an order, please call: 317 579-0439 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
All of us at the Media Access Group appreciate the unyielding support our efforts have generated over the years, and we are looking forward to the next
chapter. Here is a list of links to information about ongoing description work from WGBH:
DVS on Television
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/services/description/ontv/
DVS in Movie Theaters
www.mopix.org
DVS on DVD
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/resources/accessible-dvds.html
Link to Contact List for Hollywood Studios
http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/studios.html
(please include "Home Entertainment Division" in the address)
Contact:
Mary Watkins
Media Access Group at WGBH
617 300-3700
mary_watkins@wgbh.org
DVS Home Video Sales Effort Comes to a Close
Deep Discounts Offered for One Week on Remaining Inventory
Boston, MA. May 6. DVS Home Video, a project begun by Boston public broadcaster WGBH in the early 90's to make movies on video accessible to the nation's
blind and visually impaired viewers, will end as of May 12. The Hollywood studios have ceased manufacturing VHS or tape versions of films for sale and
rental. WGBH's work to make media accessible via description goes on, with efforts focused on television, feature films in theaters, DVDs and online video.
The DVS Home Video effort, started over a decade ago with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, resulted in more than 300 videos made accessible
through narration of key visual elements inserted into natural pauses in dialogue. From the very first DVS Video's debut, the reaction of the community
was immediate and actually profound. Films came alive in a whole new way, and the eagerness for new titles only grew. Many of the videos sold over the
years were purchased by libraries and schools, which multiplied the number of individuals and families who took such enjoyment in described movies.
Films are now being distributed for sale and rental on DVD, BluRay DVD and through video on demand (either rental or download to own) services via the Internet.
WGBH's Media Access Group, home to the Descriptive Video Service, has been working to transition the home video efforts to DVD and to these online movie
delivery outlets. Lack of available memory space on DVDs has been stated as the reason why more description tracks, created for theatrical release in
the over 300 movie theaters with WGBH's Motion Picture Access® (MoPix®) systems, are not making the migration onto DVDs. WGBH maintains a list of DVDs
that have description tracks on them at the Web page listed with other description-related links at the bottom of this post.
Advocacy is needed from the community of description fans to make this transition happen. Please see the link below for a list of Hollywood studios' home
video/home entertainment divisions. Help show the providers of video on these formats that there is a market and that you would be willing to purchase
movies with a description track included as an optional feature.
For the next week (until May 12), DVS Home Video titles remaining in stock will be sold at a deep discount. Videos that previously were available for $15.01
and above will be sold for $10. Videos retailing for $15 and below will be now be available for $5.
To access a list of available titles, please visit the Web site
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/resources/dvs-home-video-catalogue.html.
To hear a list of titles, and/or to place an order, please call: 317 579-0439 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
All of us at the Media Access Group appreciate the unyielding support our efforts have generated over the years, and we are looking forward to the next
chapter. Here is a list of links to information about ongoing description work from WGBH:
DVS on Television
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/services/description/ontv/
DVS in Movie Theaters
www.mopix.org
DVS on DVD
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/resources/accessible-dvds.html
Link to Contact List for Hollywood Studios
http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/studios.html
(please include "Home Entertainment Division" in the address)
Contact:
Mary Watkins
Media Access Group at WGBH
617 300-3700
mary_watkins@wgbh.org
Saturday, May 3
Another story on hybrids
Greetings. This time, its a short video which shows the training of guide dogs on how to deal with a hybrid car. The dogs in question are from Leader Dogs for the Blind. The other major schools likely use similar methods with their dogs. Enjoy the video on training dogs to recognize hybrids.
Guide dogs and GPS travel
Greetings. Here's an article I found on two different guide dog scools that conduct GPS training regularly. Remember, the GPS technology that we enjoy is not a replacement for taditional travel methods, such as a cane or dog guide. Rather, it can enhance one's travel. Also, in an effort to conserve labels, I'm placing any guide dog related stories or information in the "Seeing Eye" category, even if its from or about another school. Finally, according to the blog stats, this is the 400th post on this blog since it started over 3 years ago. Quite a marker for something that I've often wondered if I could keep up, or how I would keep up. I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog almost as much as I have writing it. Anyway, on to the article, which first appeared in USA Today. Even though the article's date is nearly 2 years ago, I know that boht schools mentioned are still conducting GPS training. In fact, I believe that they have even increased the number of training sessions and students since they started. Read more in the article called GPS Helps Lead the Way for the Blind. I like the fact that the article gets quotes from many different people, both in the guide dog training and assistive tech arenas. Enjoy.
Sunday, April 27
Guide dogs help deliver mail in Canada
Greetings. Here's another great guide dog related news story. Enjoy, and as always, please forgive any formatting errors.
Guide Dogs Help Deliver Mail With First-Ever Canadian
Braille Stamp
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 21, 2008) -
Canada Post will issue its first ever Canadian Braille
stamp featuring Guide Dogs. The domestic-rate stamp
will have the denomination in both print and in
Braille. The stamp is being issued to coincide with
the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Association for
the Blind which is also being recognized with a
Commemorative Envelope.
"Canada Post is committed to providing Canadians with
innovative and interesting products," says Bob Waite,
Chairman of the Canadian Stamp Advisory Committee
and Senior vice-president, Corporate Social
Responsibility, Canada Post. "We provide vital
communication links to all Canadian households and to
offer
a Braille stamp reinforces our commitment to meet the
needs of all Canadians."
With thousands of soldiers returning from World War I
blinded by poison gas, a German doctor named Gerhard
Stalling explored the notion of training dogs
to guide the wounded men. His research in training
methods led to the opening of his first guide dog
school in Germany in 1916. The school prospered and
some 600 dogs were trained each year. Word spread and
soon trained dogs were assisting people with vision
loss in Britain, France, Spain, Italy, the USA,
Canada and Soviet Union.
The most common breeds of guide dogs are Labrador
Retrievers and Golden Retrievers; chosen for their
intelligence, size, and temperament. A calm
disposition,
a high level of initiation, and a strong desire to
please are all characteristics expected of guide dogs.
Six to eight week old puppies head off to foster
families for their training. The foster families
expose the puppies to as many environments as possible
while testing their response to distractions. The
puppies will then spend four weeks with their future
partner, and then undergo final testing before
receiving
their certification. Guide Dogs often retire at age
ten.
Designers Stephen Boake and Andrew Perro of Toronto's
Designwerke sought to keep the stamp's design simple
and give prominence to the dog in order to reinforce
the intimate connection to the human partner. The
yellow Labrador Retriever on the stamp is a Canine
Vision Dog Guide from Lions Foundation of Canada Dog
Guides. The addition of Braille created various
printing challenges, as did the increase in font size
of the denomination, another incorporated element
to assist vision-impaired individuals. Additionally,
the text on the stamp booklet and Official First Day
cover were printed in a larger than usual typeface
in respect for the needs of individuals with varying
degrees of vision impairment.
The 52-cent stamp, available as of April 21, measures
38 mm x 27 mm (horizontal) with simulated
perforations. Lowe-Martin printed 3.5 million stamps,
to
be sold in booklets of ten. The self-adhesive stamp
will be printed using lithography in four colours on
Tullis Russel paper, with Braille embossing by
Montreal's Choquet Engraving Inc. They are general
tagged on all sides. The Official First Day Cover will
bear the cancel OTTAWA ON.
Additional information about Canadian stamps can be
found in the Newsroom section of Canada Post's
website, and photos of this new stamp is in the
Newsroom's
Photo Centre. Stamps and Official First Day Covers
will be available at participating post offices, or
can be ordered online by following the links at
Canada Post's website
www.canadapost.ca
or by mail order from the National Philatelic Centre.
From Canada and the USA, call toll-free: 1 800
565-4362, and from other countries, call: 902
863-6550.
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN BRAILLE UPON
REQUEST.
For more information, please contact
Canada Post
Nicole Lemire
613-734-8888
nicole.lemire@canadapost.ca
©2008 Marketwire, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Your newswire of choice for expert news release
distribution.
1-800-774-9473 (US) | 1-888-299-0338 (Canada) |
+44-20-7562-6550 (UK)
Guide Dogs Help Deliver Mail With First-Ever Canadian
Braille Stamp
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 21, 2008) -
Canada Post will issue its first ever Canadian Braille
stamp featuring Guide Dogs. The domestic-rate stamp
will have the denomination in both print and in
Braille. The stamp is being issued to coincide with
the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Association for
the Blind which is also being recognized with a
Commemorative Envelope.
"Canada Post is committed to providing Canadians with
innovative and interesting products," says Bob Waite,
Chairman of the Canadian Stamp Advisory Committee
and Senior vice-president, Corporate Social
Responsibility, Canada Post. "We provide vital
communication links to all Canadian households and to
offer
a Braille stamp reinforces our commitment to meet the
needs of all Canadians."
With thousands of soldiers returning from World War I
blinded by poison gas, a German doctor named Gerhard
Stalling explored the notion of training dogs
to guide the wounded men. His research in training
methods led to the opening of his first guide dog
school in Germany in 1916. The school prospered and
some 600 dogs were trained each year. Word spread and
soon trained dogs were assisting people with vision
loss in Britain, France, Spain, Italy, the USA,
Canada and Soviet Union.
The most common breeds of guide dogs are Labrador
Retrievers and Golden Retrievers; chosen for their
intelligence, size, and temperament. A calm
disposition,
a high level of initiation, and a strong desire to
please are all characteristics expected of guide dogs.
Six to eight week old puppies head off to foster
families for their training. The foster families
expose the puppies to as many environments as possible
while testing their response to distractions. The
puppies will then spend four weeks with their future
partner, and then undergo final testing before
receiving
their certification. Guide Dogs often retire at age
ten.
Designers Stephen Boake and Andrew Perro of Toronto's
Designwerke sought to keep the stamp's design simple
and give prominence to the dog in order to reinforce
the intimate connection to the human partner. The
yellow Labrador Retriever on the stamp is a Canine
Vision Dog Guide from Lions Foundation of Canada Dog
Guides. The addition of Braille created various
printing challenges, as did the increase in font size
of the denomination, another incorporated element
to assist vision-impaired individuals. Additionally,
the text on the stamp booklet and Official First Day
cover were printed in a larger than usual typeface
in respect for the needs of individuals with varying
degrees of vision impairment.
The 52-cent stamp, available as of April 21, measures
38 mm x 27 mm (horizontal) with simulated
perforations. Lowe-Martin printed 3.5 million stamps,
to
be sold in booklets of ten. The self-adhesive stamp
will be printed using lithography in four colours on
Tullis Russel paper, with Braille embossing by
Montreal's Choquet Engraving Inc. They are general
tagged on all sides. The Official First Day Cover will
bear the cancel OTTAWA ON.
Additional information about Canadian stamps can be
found in the Newsroom section of Canada Post's
website, and photos of this new stamp is in the
Newsroom's
Photo Centre. Stamps and Official First Day Covers
will be available at participating post offices, or
can be ordered online by following the links at
Canada Post's website
www.canadapost.ca
or by mail order from the National Philatelic Centre.
From Canada and the USA, call toll-free: 1 800
565-4362, and from other countries, call: 902
863-6550.
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN BRAILLE UPON
REQUEST.
For more information, please contact
Canada Post
Nicole Lemire
613-734-8888
nicole.lemire@canadapost.ca
©2008 Marketwire, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Your newswire of choice for expert news release
distribution.
1-800-774-9473 (US) | 1-888-299-0338 (Canada) |
+44-20-7562-6550 (UK)
In July, guide dogs allowed in China
Greetings. I received the following article from a guide dog related email list. Hopefully, this new era of guide dogs being allowed in China will help improve access to public places by the blind, as well as the welfare of the blind in general in China. Enjoy.
Guide dogs given all-clear for public venues
Chinadaily.com.cn sharing the Olympic spirit
Guide dogs given all-clear for public venues
By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-25
Guide dogs for the blind will be allowed into public
places such as subway stations and buses starting
July, under a new law amendment passed Thursday.
Lawmakers said the change, in the amendment to the Law
on the Protection of Disabled Persons, aims to better
protect the rights and interests of the blind
in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Paralympics in
September, during which many athletes will bring their
canine helpers to the capital.
Currently, ownership of large dogs in Beijing is
restricted and large dogs are barred from public
places. Since guide dogs are said to be a new
phenomenon
in the country, no exceptions were made.
This has caused inconvenience to a number of blind
people. Ping Yali, the country's first Paralympic
champion, complained to the media last year that her
guide dog "Lucky", a golden retriever, was always
barred from public places.
Explaining the law amendment to the Standing Committee
of the National People's Congress (NPC), Minister of
Civil Affairs Li Xueju said it was necessary
to make a change to allow the guide dogs into public
places as many other countries do.
"In bidding for the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games,
our country has also made a commitment to foreign
athletes for them to bring guide dogs to China,"
he said.
However, although the law amendment grants the blind
the right to take guide dogs to public places,
detailed rules are needed to facilitate its
implementation,
Ma Yu'e, deputy director of the legal department of
the China Disabled Persons' Federation, said.
Ma said that the federation is now working with public
security departments in Beijing and "it's very likely
that a detailed rule on guide dogs will be
made before the Paralympics".
Ma said such a change marks great progress in
safeguarding the rights and interests of the blind.
"The misunderstanding that guide dogs are pets must be
corrected," she said. "They are working dogs just as
police dogs are. And guide dogs are intelligent
and friendly. They won't cause any safety issues."
Official figures show about 12.3 million people in the
country suffer from visual impairments and there is an
increasing demand for guide dogs.
Apart from the rule that allows guide dogs into public
places, the law amendment also takes a closer look at
the rights and interests of the disabled in
regards to education, employment and medical care. It
also stipulates that disabled people who run private
businesses can enjoy favorable tax policies
and be exempted from administrative charges.
Similarly, the amendment has a special chapter on
promoting a barrier-free environment for the disabled.
Sun Shujun, a disabled NPC deputy from Liaoning
province who was invited to the NPC Standing Committee
session yesterday, said: "Not only should the
environment
be barrier-free. People's mindsets and attitudes
towards us disabled people should be barrier-free as
well ... Equal and fair treatment is what we want
most."
Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved
Guide dogs given all-clear for public venues
Chinadaily.com.cn sharing the Olympic spirit
Guide dogs given all-clear for public venues
By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-25
Guide dogs for the blind will be allowed into public
places such as subway stations and buses starting
July, under a new law amendment passed Thursday.
Lawmakers said the change, in the amendment to the Law
on the Protection of Disabled Persons, aims to better
protect the rights and interests of the blind
in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Paralympics in
September, during which many athletes will bring their
canine helpers to the capital.
Currently, ownership of large dogs in Beijing is
restricted and large dogs are barred from public
places. Since guide dogs are said to be a new
phenomenon
in the country, no exceptions were made.
This has caused inconvenience to a number of blind
people. Ping Yali, the country's first Paralympic
champion, complained to the media last year that her
guide dog "Lucky", a golden retriever, was always
barred from public places.
Explaining the law amendment to the Standing Committee
of the National People's Congress (NPC), Minister of
Civil Affairs Li Xueju said it was necessary
to make a change to allow the guide dogs into public
places as many other countries do.
"In bidding for the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games,
our country has also made a commitment to foreign
athletes for them to bring guide dogs to China,"
he said.
However, although the law amendment grants the blind
the right to take guide dogs to public places,
detailed rules are needed to facilitate its
implementation,
Ma Yu'e, deputy director of the legal department of
the China Disabled Persons' Federation, said.
Ma said that the federation is now working with public
security departments in Beijing and "it's very likely
that a detailed rule on guide dogs will be
made before the Paralympics".
Ma said such a change marks great progress in
safeguarding the rights and interests of the blind.
"The misunderstanding that guide dogs are pets must be
corrected," she said. "They are working dogs just as
police dogs are. And guide dogs are intelligent
and friendly. They won't cause any safety issues."
Official figures show about 12.3 million people in the
country suffer from visual impairments and there is an
increasing demand for guide dogs.
Apart from the rule that allows guide dogs into public
places, the law amendment also takes a closer look at
the rights and interests of the disabled in
regards to education, employment and medical care. It
also stipulates that disabled people who run private
businesses can enjoy favorable tax policies
and be exempted from administrative charges.
Similarly, the amendment has a special chapter on
promoting a barrier-free environment for the disabled.
Sun Shujun, a disabled NPC deputy from Liaoning
province who was invited to the NPC Standing Committee
session yesterday, said: "Not only should the
environment
be barrier-free. People's mindsets and attitudes
towards us disabled people should be barrier-free as
well ... Equal and fair treatment is what we want
most."
Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved
Wednesday, April 16
Cap Metro appears to be listening
Greetings. Here's an article from News 8 Austin, one of the TV sstations in Austin, about the Capitol Metro saga called, Capital Metro addresses paratransit customer concerns. It looks like they're listening and headed in the right direction. However, based on their behavior in the last few weeks and months, I'm a little hesitant to jump on their wagon until they actually make the requested improvements that the public (their riders) have advocated for and stop trying to "fix" the service.
Tuesday, April 15
Free tech support for the blind
Greetings. I received the below information from an email list. For those that are blind or low vision and who need technical support but may not want to call the computer company for fear of getting someone who doesn't understand how you can use a computer if you're blind, consider the following service from the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. Incidentally, I applied for and had an interview for this job. Though I didn't get it, it did hold the position of being the longest phone interview I've ever had, at the time and since, topping out at around 90 minutes. However, my job path led me in a different direction, which I can now say that I'm grateful for. I wouldn't have it any other way. Anyway, this is a great service and definitely one to make note of. You never know when you might need it. Enjoy, and as always, please excuse any formatting errors.
Follow up: From the Access Ability blog (linked below in the blogs to watch section), we learn that the toll free number for this tech support service is (888) 825-0080. Apologies for not including this in the original post.
***
I want to just remind everyone our Adaptive Technology Help Desk is still operating and we eagerly await your calls. The telephone number given is for voice and relay calls; we do not have a direct TTY for the help desk.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dominic Calabrese 312/997-3662
dominic.calabrese@chicagolighthouse.org
Chicago Lighthouse Assistive Technology Computer HelpDesk Hopes to Expand Service
CHICAGO - In an ongoing effort to accommodate people across the country who are visually impaired and in need of technical support, The Chicago Lighthouse hopes to expand its toll-free telephone assistive technology support line.
Since it was developed in 2006, the service has accommodated over 1,500 requests for assistance from individuals in 48 states, Canada, China and South Africa. Servicing the calls is Ray Campbell, a former engineer with Lucent Technologies who now works in the Lighthouse's Adaptive Technology program.
"I've taken requests from Delta Junction, Alaska to Pilots Knob, Missouri; from Bird Island, Minnesota to Sasketoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; and from Lanzhou, Cansu, China to Somerset West, South Africa," Campbell notes.
"Our intent is to offer a one stop place where people who are blind or visually impaired can get the assistance that they need," he says. Campbell points out that he is able to listen to what JAWS or WindowEyes is saying and walk the caller him right through their problem.
"I've assisted people with everything from installing Antivirus software to helping someone navigate the eharmony.com site using JAWS to assisting organizations with designing an accessible website to showing someone how to find Game Day Audio on the Major League Baseball website, www.mlb.com to assisting someone in accessing his credit card statement on-line," he continues.
Campbell's assistance has been well received across the country.
"I've got one gentleman in South Carolina that calls me two to four times a week to ask for my help," he says. One lady Campbell assisted in San Francisco wrote a letter thanking the Lighthouse for offering the HelpDesk service and praising Campbell for his assistance. "People contact me as they value my opinions on what technology they should buy, and while that's a bit scary it also feels very good," he smiles.
Campbell adds that if he can't resolve the issue over the phone or through e-mail, he will schedule an on-site visit as long as the customer resides in the Chicago metropolitan area. The program was made possible when the Lighthouse successfully matched a $41,000 grant from The Boeing Company.
"We're tremendously grateful to Boeing for their support and we intend to use the support line in strengthening our level of customer service and showcasing the Lighthouse as a national leader in adaptive technology," says William Bielawski, program manager for adaptive technology and office skills training at the Lighthouse.
Bielawski notes that any blind or visually impaired person could contact the support line regardless of what product they're using. "It can be any hardware or software relating to assistive technology as long as the customer is visually impaired," he says. Bielawski encourages calls from employers, counselors, teachers and other individuals who work with people who are visually impaired. "We're excited to have an opportunity to make it easier for people with visual impairments to take advantage of the many technological advancements that are now more readily available."
The Chicago Lighthouse is one of the nation's most comprehensive social service agencies. Housed under its roof are the nation's oldest low vision clinic; one of the few remaining clock manufacturing facilities in the U.S.; a nationally acclaimed school for children who are blind with multi-disabilities; a VA program serving veterans in all 50 states; and a radio station. The agency provided education, referral and direct services to more than 70,000 people in fiscal year 2007.
Follow up: From the Access Ability blog (linked below in the blogs to watch section), we learn that the toll free number for this tech support service is (888) 825-0080. Apologies for not including this in the original post.
***
I want to just remind everyone our Adaptive Technology Help Desk is still operating and we eagerly await your calls. The telephone number given is for voice and relay calls; we do not have a direct TTY for the help desk.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dominic Calabrese 312/997-3662
dominic.calabrese@chicagolighthouse.org
Chicago Lighthouse Assistive Technology Computer HelpDesk Hopes to Expand Service
CHICAGO - In an ongoing effort to accommodate people across the country who are visually impaired and in need of technical support, The Chicago Lighthouse hopes to expand its toll-free telephone assistive technology support line.
Since it was developed in 2006, the service has accommodated over 1,500 requests for assistance from individuals in 48 states, Canada, China and South Africa. Servicing the calls is Ray Campbell, a former engineer with Lucent Technologies who now works in the Lighthouse's Adaptive Technology program.
"I've taken requests from Delta Junction, Alaska to Pilots Knob, Missouri; from Bird Island, Minnesota to Sasketoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; and from Lanzhou, Cansu, China to Somerset West, South Africa," Campbell notes.
"Our intent is to offer a one stop place where people who are blind or visually impaired can get the assistance that they need," he says. Campbell points out that he is able to listen to what JAWS or WindowEyes is saying and walk the caller him right through their problem.
"I've assisted people with everything from installing Antivirus software to helping someone navigate the eharmony.com site using JAWS to assisting organizations with designing an accessible website to showing someone how to find Game Day Audio on the Major League Baseball website, www.mlb.com to assisting someone in accessing his credit card statement on-line," he continues.
Campbell's assistance has been well received across the country.
"I've got one gentleman in South Carolina that calls me two to four times a week to ask for my help," he says. One lady Campbell assisted in San Francisco wrote a letter thanking the Lighthouse for offering the HelpDesk service and praising Campbell for his assistance. "People contact me as they value my opinions on what technology they should buy, and while that's a bit scary it also feels very good," he smiles.
Campbell adds that if he can't resolve the issue over the phone or through e-mail, he will schedule an on-site visit as long as the customer resides in the Chicago metropolitan area. The program was made possible when the Lighthouse successfully matched a $41,000 grant from The Boeing Company.
"We're tremendously grateful to Boeing for their support and we intend to use the support line in strengthening our level of customer service and showcasing the Lighthouse as a national leader in adaptive technology," says William Bielawski, program manager for adaptive technology and office skills training at the Lighthouse.
Bielawski notes that any blind or visually impaired person could contact the support line regardless of what product they're using. "It can be any hardware or software relating to assistive technology as long as the customer is visually impaired," he says. Bielawski encourages calls from employers, counselors, teachers and other individuals who work with people who are visually impaired. "We're excited to have an opportunity to make it easier for people with visual impairments to take advantage of the many technological advancements that are now more readily available."
The Chicago Lighthouse is one of the nation's most comprehensive social service agencies. Housed under its roof are the nation's oldest low vision clinic; one of the few remaining clock manufacturing facilities in the U.S.; a nationally acclaimed school for children who are blind with multi-disabilities; a VA program serving veterans in all 50 states; and a radio station. The agency provided education, referral and direct services to more than 70,000 people in fiscal year 2007.
Sunday, April 13
Responsible pet owners
Greetings. I received the following material from a German Shepherd guide dog email list. Though "pet" could apply to any pet, considering this came from a guide dog list, I prefer to think of this as to dogs. Enjoy.
Ten Commandments for a Responsible Pet Owner - as dictated by the pet.
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainments but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand and yet I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too will grow old.
10. On the difficult journey, on the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there because I love you so.
Take a moment today to thank God for your companions. Enjoy and take good care of them. Life would be a much duller, less joyful thing without God's critters.
Ten Commandments for a Responsible Pet Owner - as dictated by the pet.
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainments but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand and yet I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too will grow old.
10. On the difficult journey, on the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there because I love you so.
Take a moment today to thank God for your companions. Enjoy and take good care of them. Life would be a much duller, less joyful thing without God's critters.
Home interview
Greetings. I wrote the following email to a list made up of graduates, trainers, puppy raisers, and other people affiliated in some way with The Seeing Eye. The home interview and the evaluation/assessment I speak of are one in the same. Basically, a trainer comes to your house or business to talk with you about what you want in a dog, why you want a dog, and so forth, and then takes you out on a "juno" walk, where the trainer plays the role of the guide dog. Enjoy.
Well, Jonathan (the trainer) came out Thursday morning and it went very well. After talking for a little while, I asked him if I could give him my preferences, and his response was, "Ok, how many pages am I going to need?" When I was finished, he said, "Is that all? I've got a full 2 inches of space left."
The juno walk went well. It was weird for me to walk smoothly around obstacles that I usually hit or trip over with my cane. I spent much of the first part of the walk anticipating and wondering about upcoming potholes or cracks in the sidewalk, but then I accepted the fact that I'm going to have to trust the dog, and relaxed. Truthfully, this is something that I struggled with when using my first dog. My walking pace has slowed down a little since my early twenties. It also took some reminding by Jonathan to let him pull me, instead of me trying to catch up with him. It was nice though, and by the time we turned around to come back down one of the sidewalks near my complex, I was thinking to myself, "Is it over? No, let's do more juno stuff." Though its been some years, my leash correction is still as good as it was back in the day. My first attempt failed miserably, but then the second and third ones made up for that.
He said that my walking speed is perhaps a little below average and my pull about the same. Over all, it was a good visit. I feel pretty good about it, and I'm also getting excited. This is the last step for me in the process. He said that the usual time given is 4 weeks for contact by the school, but he also said that it would probably be around two weeks. So, perhaps by the end of April I'll know something.
Well, Jonathan (the trainer) came out Thursday morning and it went very well. After talking for a little while, I asked him if I could give him my preferences, and his response was, "Ok, how many pages am I going to need?" When I was finished, he said, "Is that all? I've got a full 2 inches of space left."
The juno walk went well. It was weird for me to walk smoothly around obstacles that I usually hit or trip over with my cane. I spent much of the first part of the walk anticipating and wondering about upcoming potholes or cracks in the sidewalk, but then I accepted the fact that I'm going to have to trust the dog, and relaxed. Truthfully, this is something that I struggled with when using my first dog. My walking pace has slowed down a little since my early twenties. It also took some reminding by Jonathan to let him pull me, instead of me trying to catch up with him. It was nice though, and by the time we turned around to come back down one of the sidewalks near my complex, I was thinking to myself, "Is it over? No, let's do more juno stuff." Though its been some years, my leash correction is still as good as it was back in the day. My first attempt failed miserably, but then the second and third ones made up for that.
He said that my walking speed is perhaps a little below average and my pull about the same. Over all, it was a good visit. I feel pretty good about it, and I'm also getting excited. This is the last step for me in the process. He said that the usual time given is 4 weeks for contact by the school, but he also said that it would probably be around two weeks. So, perhaps by the end of April I'll know something.
Another hybrid article
Greetings. Below is another article on hybrid cars, this time from Phoenix, AZ. Enjoy, and as always, please excuse any formatting errors. Also, you might participate in the pole link toward the end of this article.
Lawmaker calls quiet hybrids peril to the blind
By Daniel Scarpinato
Arizona daily star, Feb. 25, 2008
PHOENIX - If you live near a busy street, you probably like the sound of
cars getting quieter. But one state lawmaker, alarmed that hybrid cars
are
getting too quiet, is seeking to actually make them noisier.
The concern is centered on the danger quiet hybrids could pose to the
blind
- with their technology so good at muting sound that they have become
unnoticeable to the ear.
"Hybrid cars are amazing, and I think one of the unintended consequences
of
this new technology is that it is so effective in reducing noise on the
streets, the fear is that our blind citizens are in danger crossing the
road," says
state Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, who is pushing a bill in the Legislature
to
require hybrids to make more noise. "If you drive a hybrid, you're not
going
to want someone who is listening to cars stepping out into the road in
front
of your hybrid."
Ableser's bill, which has been cleared by a House committee, requires
the
Arizona Department of Transportation to adopt a "minimum sound standard"
for
vehicles sold and registered in the state.
Common hybrids run 15 to 25 decibels more quietly than traditional
internal
combustion engines, so Ableser's bill would require the hybrids to emit
an
artificial sound similar to a traditional engine. It also would be
retroactive - applying to those who already own the vehicles.
The technology doesn't yet exist because no manufacturer has implemented
the
standards, but the National Federation of the Blind is also pushing the
legislation in Virginia, Maryland and Hawaii. The organization says it
doesn't know if anyone blind has been hit by a hybrid for this reason,
but
it is a looming concern.
"We know that there have been a lot of close calls," said spokesman
Chris
Danielsen. "We would like action to be taken before there's actually an
injury, or heaven forbid, a death from this."
But with the state having spent $250 million on rubberized roadways to
make
traffic quieter, some see the move as counterintuitive and unnecessary.
"I can't imagine a blind person thinking I don't hear anything so I am
going
to just step out in the middle of the freeway," said state Rep. Mark
Anderson, R-Mesa. "It's a big gamble just to step out there."
But Danielsen, himself blind, says that argument is "based on ignorance"
and
assumes blind people should just stay at home and not leave the house.
Advocates also have argued that the bill could protect children and
cyclists.
Dan Taylor, a local cyclist, says he can see both sides, but he doesn't
see
noisier cars as making things any safer for him and his friends.
"If you're in harm's way of a car, you're probably doing something
wrong,"
said Taylor, a licensed acupuncturist. "Once you hear a car coming, it's
usually too close anyway."
There also are concerns from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
that
the bill could deter people from purchasing hybrids - particularly if
each
state had individual laws. Ableser said the hybrids industry will
flourish
either way.
"What this is doing is trying to encourage the automotive industry to
implement this mechanism," Ableser said. "I can't see anyone purchasing
a
regular car because all of a sudden hybrids now make a slight noise.
"People buy hybrids because they want to contribute to the conservation
of
our environment," he said.
On StarNet: Should the state legislature pass the law requiring hybrid cars to emit more noise? Participate in a poll at
http://go.azstarnet.com/hybrid
● Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 307-4339 or
dscarpinato@azstarnet.com
Lawmaker calls quiet hybrids peril to the blind
By Daniel Scarpinato
Arizona daily star, Feb. 25, 2008
PHOENIX - If you live near a busy street, you probably like the sound of
cars getting quieter. But one state lawmaker, alarmed that hybrid cars
are
getting too quiet, is seeking to actually make them noisier.
The concern is centered on the danger quiet hybrids could pose to the
blind
- with their technology so good at muting sound that they have become
unnoticeable to the ear.
"Hybrid cars are amazing, and I think one of the unintended consequences
of
this new technology is that it is so effective in reducing noise on the
streets, the fear is that our blind citizens are in danger crossing the
road," says
state Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, who is pushing a bill in the Legislature
to
require hybrids to make more noise. "If you drive a hybrid, you're not
going
to want someone who is listening to cars stepping out into the road in
front
of your hybrid."
Ableser's bill, which has been cleared by a House committee, requires
the
Arizona Department of Transportation to adopt a "minimum sound standard"
for
vehicles sold and registered in the state.
Common hybrids run 15 to 25 decibels more quietly than traditional
internal
combustion engines, so Ableser's bill would require the hybrids to emit
an
artificial sound similar to a traditional engine. It also would be
retroactive - applying to those who already own the vehicles.
The technology doesn't yet exist because no manufacturer has implemented
the
standards, but the National Federation of the Blind is also pushing the
legislation in Virginia, Maryland and Hawaii. The organization says it
doesn't know if anyone blind has been hit by a hybrid for this reason,
but
it is a looming concern.
"We know that there have been a lot of close calls," said spokesman
Chris
Danielsen. "We would like action to be taken before there's actually an
injury, or heaven forbid, a death from this."
But with the state having spent $250 million on rubberized roadways to
make
traffic quieter, some see the move as counterintuitive and unnecessary.
"I can't imagine a blind person thinking I don't hear anything so I am
going
to just step out in the middle of the freeway," said state Rep. Mark
Anderson, R-Mesa. "It's a big gamble just to step out there."
But Danielsen, himself blind, says that argument is "based on ignorance"
and
assumes blind people should just stay at home and not leave the house.
Advocates also have argued that the bill could protect children and
cyclists.
Dan Taylor, a local cyclist, says he can see both sides, but he doesn't
see
noisier cars as making things any safer for him and his friends.
"If you're in harm's way of a car, you're probably doing something
wrong,"
said Taylor, a licensed acupuncturist. "Once you hear a car coming, it's
usually too close anyway."
There also are concerns from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
that
the bill could deter people from purchasing hybrids - particularly if
each
state had individual laws. Ableser said the hybrids industry will
flourish
either way.
"What this is doing is trying to encourage the automotive industry to
implement this mechanism," Ableser said. "I can't see anyone purchasing
a
regular car because all of a sudden hybrids now make a slight noise.
"People buy hybrids because they want to contribute to the conservation
of
our environment," he said.
On StarNet: Should the state legislature pass the law requiring hybrid cars to emit more noise? Participate in a poll at
http://go.azstarnet.com/hybrid
● Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 307-4339 or
dscarpinato@azstarnet.com
Saturday, April 12
Hybrid legislation introduced in the House of Representatives
Greetings. I received the following message from several different email lists run by the National Federation of the Blind concerning legislation on hybrid cars. I'm posting this here for those interested and politely ask you to contact your representatives to get them to co-sponsor this legislation, or if their name is listed below, to thank them. If we can get this legislation, or some similar, to pass, then it can start the process of making people, auto makers, and others more aware of hybrid cars and the possible danger they pose from someone (blind or otherwise) not hearing them.
***
Fellow Federationists:
It pleases me to write to you announcing that our silent car
legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives. Ed
Towns, Democrat of New York, and Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida,
has introduced H.R. 5734, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008.
Therefore, your help is needed to gain cosponsors of this important
legislation.
This legislation assures that blind and other pedestrians
will receive the information needed to make proper judgments regarding
the presence of vehicles, in order that we can travel safely. It does
so by:
a.. Requiring the Department of Transportation to convene a study
within ninety days of its enactment;
b.. Requiring the study to determine whether a minimum sound standard
or some other approach will provide blind and other pedestrians the most
accurate information regarding speed, location, and direction of travel
for the vehicles;
c.. Requiring that, when making this consideration, the study must
evaluate the cost of each method examined, including the cost of
providing all pedestrians any technology they must possess under each
approach; and
d.. Requiring that the study consider which approach permits the
greatest amount of independent spontaneous travel for blind and other
pedestrians.
Once the study reaches its conclusions, the Department of
Transportation must report its findings to Congress, and within ninety
days of the study's end, the Department of Transportation must establish
a vehicle safety standard that implements the results of the study.
Finally, two years after the safety standard is implemented, all new
cars sold in the United States must comply.
This legislation is under jurisdiction of the House
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce. This subcommittee and its full
committee are the most important members for this bill, though we want
all the members that we can get to cosponsor this legislation. Both of
our original sponsors are members of the subcommittee, and Stearns was
its chair when republicans controlled the House of Representatives.
Now that the bill has been introduced, we need cosponsors.
This is so because the attention gained will push Committee and House
leadership to conduct hearings that will help us get out the message
that, if solutions are not promptly found and implemented, silent cars
will place the independence of blind Americans in real peril. To help
with this task, it is critical that you get your representatives to sign
on to H.R. 5734. Recall that you can reach the Capitol switchboard by
calling (202) 225-3121. I am providing lists of the subcommittee and
full committee members, but you are urged to get all members of the
House to join as cosponsors. Thank you for all you do. Let us now make
a difference in assuring that we can hear cars now and in the future.
Most cordially,
James McCarthy
Government Programs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
FULL COMMITTEE on Energy and Commerce
John D. Dingell (MI), Chairman
(Ratio: 31-26)
Henry A. Waxman, CA
Joe Barton, TX, Ranking Member
Edward J. Markey, MA
Ralph M. Hall, TX
Rick Boucher, VA
Fred Upton, MI
Edolphus Towns, NY
Cliff Stearns, FL
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Nathan Deal, GA
Bart Gordon, TN
Ed Whitfield, KY
Bobby L. Rush, IL
Barbara Cubin, WY
Anna G. Eshoo, CA
John Shimkus, IL
Bart Stupak, MI
Heather Wilson, NM
Eliot L. Engel, NY
John Shadegg, AZ
Gene Green, TX
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS
Diana DeGette, CO, Vice Chair
Vito Fossella, NY
Lois Capps, CA
Roy Blunt, MO
Mike Doyle, PA
Steve Buyer, IN
Jane Harman, CA
George Radanovich, CA
Tom Allen, ME
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Hilda L. Solis, CA
Greg Walden, OR
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Lee Terry, NE
Jay Inslee, WA
Mike Ferguson, NJ
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Mike Rogers, MI
Mike Ross, AR
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Darlene Hooley, OR
John Sullivan, OK
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Tim Murphy, PA
Jim Matheson, UT
Michael C. Burgess, TX
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Marsha Blackburn, TN
Charlie Melancon, LA
John Barrow, GA
Baron P. Hill, IN
Vacancy
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
(Ratio: 16-13)
Bobby L. Rush (IL), Chairman
Jan Schakowsky, IL, Vice Chair
Ed Whitfield, KY, Ranking Member
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Cliff Stearns, FL
John Barrow, GA
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS
Baron P. Hill, IN
Vito Fossella, NY
Edward J. Markey, MA
George Radanovich, CA
Rick Boucher, VA
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Edolphus Towns, NY
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Diana DeGette, CO
Lee Terry, NE
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Mike Ross, AR
John Sullivan, OK
Darlene Hooley, OR
Michael C. Burgess, TX
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Marsha Blackburn, TN
Jim Matheson, UT
Joe Barton, TX (Ex Officio)
Charlie Melancon, LA
John D. Dingell (Ex Officio)
***
Fellow Federationists:
It pleases me to write to you announcing that our silent car
legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives. Ed
Towns, Democrat of New York, and Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida,
has introduced H.R. 5734, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008.
Therefore, your help is needed to gain cosponsors of this important
legislation.
This legislation assures that blind and other pedestrians
will receive the information needed to make proper judgments regarding
the presence of vehicles, in order that we can travel safely. It does
so by:
a.. Requiring the Department of Transportation to convene a study
within ninety days of its enactment;
b.. Requiring the study to determine whether a minimum sound standard
or some other approach will provide blind and other pedestrians the most
accurate information regarding speed, location, and direction of travel
for the vehicles;
c.. Requiring that, when making this consideration, the study must
evaluate the cost of each method examined, including the cost of
providing all pedestrians any technology they must possess under each
approach; and
d.. Requiring that the study consider which approach permits the
greatest amount of independent spontaneous travel for blind and other
pedestrians.
Once the study reaches its conclusions, the Department of
Transportation must report its findings to Congress, and within ninety
days of the study's end, the Department of Transportation must establish
a vehicle safety standard that implements the results of the study.
Finally, two years after the safety standard is implemented, all new
cars sold in the United States must comply.
This legislation is under jurisdiction of the House
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce. This subcommittee and its full
committee are the most important members for this bill, though we want
all the members that we can get to cosponsor this legislation. Both of
our original sponsors are members of the subcommittee, and Stearns was
its chair when republicans controlled the House of Representatives.
Now that the bill has been introduced, we need cosponsors.
This is so because the attention gained will push Committee and House
leadership to conduct hearings that will help us get out the message
that, if solutions are not promptly found and implemented, silent cars
will place the independence of blind Americans in real peril. To help
with this task, it is critical that you get your representatives to sign
on to H.R. 5734. Recall that you can reach the Capitol switchboard by
calling (202) 225-3121. I am providing lists of the subcommittee and
full committee members, but you are urged to get all members of the
House to join as cosponsors. Thank you for all you do. Let us now make
a difference in assuring that we can hear cars now and in the future.
Most cordially,
James McCarthy
Government Programs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
FULL COMMITTEE on Energy and Commerce
John D. Dingell (MI), Chairman
(Ratio: 31-26)
Henry A. Waxman, CA
Joe Barton, TX, Ranking Member
Edward J. Markey, MA
Ralph M. Hall, TX
Rick Boucher, VA
Fred Upton, MI
Edolphus Towns, NY
Cliff Stearns, FL
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Nathan Deal, GA
Bart Gordon, TN
Ed Whitfield, KY
Bobby L. Rush, IL
Barbara Cubin, WY
Anna G. Eshoo, CA
John Shimkus, IL
Bart Stupak, MI
Heather Wilson, NM
Eliot L. Engel, NY
John Shadegg, AZ
Gene Green, TX
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS
Diana DeGette, CO, Vice Chair
Vito Fossella, NY
Lois Capps, CA
Roy Blunt, MO
Mike Doyle, PA
Steve Buyer, IN
Jane Harman, CA
George Radanovich, CA
Tom Allen, ME
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Hilda L. Solis, CA
Greg Walden, OR
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Lee Terry, NE
Jay Inslee, WA
Mike Ferguson, NJ
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Mike Rogers, MI
Mike Ross, AR
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Darlene Hooley, OR
John Sullivan, OK
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Tim Murphy, PA
Jim Matheson, UT
Michael C. Burgess, TX
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Marsha Blackburn, TN
Charlie Melancon, LA
John Barrow, GA
Baron P. Hill, IN
Vacancy
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
(Ratio: 16-13)
Bobby L. Rush (IL), Chairman
Jan Schakowsky, IL, Vice Chair
Ed Whitfield, KY, Ranking Member
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Cliff Stearns, FL
John Barrow, GA
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS
Baron P. Hill, IN
Vito Fossella, NY
Edward J. Markey, MA
George Radanovich, CA
Rick Boucher, VA
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Edolphus Towns, NY
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Diana DeGette, CO
Lee Terry, NE
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Mike Ross, AR
John Sullivan, OK
Darlene Hooley, OR
Michael C. Burgess, TX
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Marsha Blackburn, TN
Jim Matheson, UT
Joe Barton, TX (Ex Officio)
Charlie Melancon, LA
John D. Dingell (Ex Officio)
Saturday, April 5
Journey for the new dog
Greetings again. Well, this is what happens when I go awhile without posting. This time though I have an announcement to you, the faithful blog reader, or perhaps to myself if I read this in the future. I'm going back to The Seeing Eye for my second guide dog. I had a dog guide before in 1995 and used him for 4 years before retiring him. Retirement wasn't because of anything the dog did or didn't do, but rather from the fact that at that time, I didn't want to deal with the daily responsibilities of using a dog guide. Now though, I've got a steady lifestyle, I know what I'm getting into, and what a dog will and won't do for me. Before, I was in college and had no idea what to expect. Now, I know what to expect and how a dog could fit my personality and lifestyle. Plus, its been over a year and a half since Tony died. Its been long enough; its time and I feel like I'm ready.
I haven't used a dog in 9 years so there's a fair amount of apprehension and wonderment of if I can make this work and if I can remember everything I'm supposed to do. I've given it his a lot of thought and have come up with the following reasons for getting a dog, in no particular order: enhanced mobility, safety when traveling and crossing streets, hoping the dog will pick up on the cars and things that I miss due to a slight hearing loss, and companionship. I'd like a dog that's reserved and is content to lay under a desk for awhile. Since I'm a teacher, there may be times when the dog does just this while I go to a classroom down the hall to teach. However, I also know that a dog needs activity and stimulation, so I've been thinking of places I can go while at work to keep the dog's interest; routes I can take through the training center.
With this in mind, I've asked for a German Shepherd. I love the idea of a Shepherd being a one person dog, reserved around people, and focused while working. Tony was a yellow Lab, and though there were times that he was focused, there were also times of distraction. I realize all dogs are prone to distraction and that any guiding breed will have a variety of traits in any dog. However, it seems, according to research I've done and people I've talked with, that Shepherds are more focused workers and aren't distracted by people or other dogs. If I do receive a Lab, then I'd like it not to be yellow, since Tony was a yellow Lab. A good friend of mine has already said that there will be times when I'll compare "new dog": to Tony. I can see how this would happen, and in some sense, its already started with a preference for a black or brown, rather than a yellow, Lab.
Anyway, these are things I've initially thought of. I've sent in my application and had the medical forms filled out by my doctor. The next step will be a personal visit by one of The Seeing Eye trainers. Since there's quite a gap since I last used a dog, they're sending a trainer to meet with me. I talked with him this morning, and the meeting is set for thursday morning of next week. He'll talk with me about my lifestyle and we'll go on a "Juno" walk, where he simulates the role of the dog. This will give him an opportunity to evaluate my orientation and mobility skills as well as my walking speed. I think I've slowed down a little since I walked with Tony 10+ years ago, :)
So there it is; a new chapter in my life. Actually, its probably more accurate to say that its a continuation of a chapter. Back in September of 2006 when Tony died, I didn't know if I wanted another dog. I even gave nearly all of Tony's things away, keeping only his leash and collar. Now though, after time to think about and greave over Tony, and to think about what a guide dog means and how one can enhance your life, I've come full circle. I'm not going to say that a guide dog is 100 percent better than a cane, or vice versa about the cane verses the dog. I view this as a personal preference. I know plenty of people that sware by dogs and would never even touch canes, and others who sware by the cane. Personally, they're all tools, the canes and dogs that is. Each has their place, and there are times when the dog would be better than the cane, and likewise with the cane. Truth be told, just because I'll have a dog doesn't mean that I'm going to toss my canes in the trash. Rather, I'll likely have one at work and one at home. Anyway, that's my story. I'll update you on the progress of this journey as time goes on. You might have noticed that I've created a new label, called Seeing Eye, which I can use to categorize all these steps in the journey. Lord willing, it would be great to update this blog when at The Seeing Eye in class. But, that remains to be seen, not because I can't. But because so much happens when in class on a daily basis. I'll do my best though.
I haven't used a dog in 9 years so there's a fair amount of apprehension and wonderment of if I can make this work and if I can remember everything I'm supposed to do. I've given it his a lot of thought and have come up with the following reasons for getting a dog, in no particular order: enhanced mobility, safety when traveling and crossing streets, hoping the dog will pick up on the cars and things that I miss due to a slight hearing loss, and companionship. I'd like a dog that's reserved and is content to lay under a desk for awhile. Since I'm a teacher, there may be times when the dog does just this while I go to a classroom down the hall to teach. However, I also know that a dog needs activity and stimulation, so I've been thinking of places I can go while at work to keep the dog's interest; routes I can take through the training center.
With this in mind, I've asked for a German Shepherd. I love the idea of a Shepherd being a one person dog, reserved around people, and focused while working. Tony was a yellow Lab, and though there were times that he was focused, there were also times of distraction. I realize all dogs are prone to distraction and that any guiding breed will have a variety of traits in any dog. However, it seems, according to research I've done and people I've talked with, that Shepherds are more focused workers and aren't distracted by people or other dogs. If I do receive a Lab, then I'd like it not to be yellow, since Tony was a yellow Lab. A good friend of mine has already said that there will be times when I'll compare "new dog": to Tony. I can see how this would happen, and in some sense, its already started with a preference for a black or brown, rather than a yellow, Lab.
Anyway, these are things I've initially thought of. I've sent in my application and had the medical forms filled out by my doctor. The next step will be a personal visit by one of The Seeing Eye trainers. Since there's quite a gap since I last used a dog, they're sending a trainer to meet with me. I talked with him this morning, and the meeting is set for thursday morning of next week. He'll talk with me about my lifestyle and we'll go on a "Juno" walk, where he simulates the role of the dog. This will give him an opportunity to evaluate my orientation and mobility skills as well as my walking speed. I think I've slowed down a little since I walked with Tony 10+ years ago, :)
So there it is; a new chapter in my life. Actually, its probably more accurate to say that its a continuation of a chapter. Back in September of 2006 when Tony died, I didn't know if I wanted another dog. I even gave nearly all of Tony's things away, keeping only his leash and collar. Now though, after time to think about and greave over Tony, and to think about what a guide dog means and how one can enhance your life, I've come full circle. I'm not going to say that a guide dog is 100 percent better than a cane, or vice versa about the cane verses the dog. I view this as a personal preference. I know plenty of people that sware by dogs and would never even touch canes, and others who sware by the cane. Personally, they're all tools, the canes and dogs that is. Each has their place, and there are times when the dog would be better than the cane, and likewise with the cane. Truth be told, just because I'll have a dog doesn't mean that I'm going to toss my canes in the trash. Rather, I'll likely have one at work and one at home. Anyway, that's my story. I'll update you on the progress of this journey as time goes on. You might have noticed that I've created a new label, called Seeing Eye, which I can use to categorize all these steps in the journey. Lord willing, it would be great to update this blog when at The Seeing Eye in class. But, that remains to be seen, not because I can't. But because so much happens when in class on a daily basis. I'll do my best though.
Press release on hybrid cars
Greetings. Following is a press release on hybrid cars I received yesterday through email. Please excuse any formatting errors and enjoy.
University of California, Riverside Press Release:
Hybrid Cars Are Harder to Hear
Quiet vehicles may pose greater risks to pedestrians, UCR psychologist finds.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Hybrid cars are so quiet
when operating only with their electric
motors that they may pose a risk to the blind
and some other pedestrians, research by a
University of California, Riverside psychologist suggests.
Preliminary results of the on-going research
project show that hybrid cars operating at
very slow speeds must be 40 percent closer to
pedestrians than combustion-engine
vehicles before their location can be audibly
detected, said Lawrence Rosenblum,
professor of psychology. Those findings have
implications for pedestrians who are blind,
runners, cyclists, small children, and others, he said.
"There is a real difference between the
audibility of hybrid vehicles and those with
traditional internal combustion engines that
could have effects on the safety of
pedestrians which need to be studied," Rosenblum
said. "Our preliminary findings could
mean that there is an added danger with hybrid
cars, particularly at intersections and in
parking lots."
In a research project funded by the National
Federation of the Blind, Rosenblum made
audio recordings of hybrid and combustion-engine
cars in a quiet parking lot. The
vehicles moved no faster than 5 miles per hour
to assure that the hybrid car operated only
with its electric motor. Subjects in a lab
listened to the recordings and indicated when
they could hear from which direction the car
approached. Subjects could make these
judgments sooner when listening to the
combustion-engine car than when listening to the
hybrid car.
At speeds above 20 to 25 miles per hour hybrid
cars likely generate enough tire and
aerodynamic noise to make them sufficiently audible, Rosenblum said.
"This research provides evidence that hybrid
cars, when operating in silent mode, pose a
substantial risk to blind people and other
pedestrians. We hope that regulators and car
manufacturers will take notice of these results
and take steps to eliminate this risk," said
Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National
Federation of the Blind, a 50,000-member
advocacy organization for people who are blind or have low vision.
Rosenblum, who is an adviser to the Society of
Automotive Engineers and sits on
committees that make recommendations to the auto
industry, has spent many years
researching perception of approaching cars and
whether there are similarities between
visual and auditory perception of approach.
"I really do feel this is an issue for more than
those who are blind," he said. "We're also
talking about bike riders, runners and others.
Walking around with my kids in a parking
lot makes it very clear that I'm using hearing
and vision to determine where things are."
Rosenblum is continuing the study with greater levels of background noise and
eventually will test people who are blind in
parking lots to determine the level of risk. In
April he will meet with Stanford University
researchers who are developing different
sounds that would enhance the ability of
pedestrians to hear approaching hybrid and
electric cars.
"Everyone's aware of the issue," he said.
However, Rosenblum said, "We are not talking
about major changes to the way automobiles are
designed, but about slightly increasing
their audibility when they are traveling slowly.
Only a subtle sound enhancement should
be required."
University of California, Riverside Press Release:
Hybrid Cars Are Harder to Hear
Quiet vehicles may pose greater risks to pedestrians, UCR psychologist finds.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Hybrid cars are so quiet
when operating only with their electric
motors that they may pose a risk to the blind
and some other pedestrians, research by a
University of California, Riverside psychologist suggests.
Preliminary results of the on-going research
project show that hybrid cars operating at
very slow speeds must be 40 percent closer to
pedestrians than combustion-engine
vehicles before their location can be audibly
detected, said Lawrence Rosenblum,
professor of psychology. Those findings have
implications for pedestrians who are blind,
runners, cyclists, small children, and others, he said.
"There is a real difference between the
audibility of hybrid vehicles and those with
traditional internal combustion engines that
could have effects on the safety of
pedestrians which need to be studied," Rosenblum
said. "Our preliminary findings could
mean that there is an added danger with hybrid
cars, particularly at intersections and in
parking lots."
In a research project funded by the National
Federation of the Blind, Rosenblum made
audio recordings of hybrid and combustion-engine
cars in a quiet parking lot. The
vehicles moved no faster than 5 miles per hour
to assure that the hybrid car operated only
with its electric motor. Subjects in a lab
listened to the recordings and indicated when
they could hear from which direction the car
approached. Subjects could make these
judgments sooner when listening to the
combustion-engine car than when listening to the
hybrid car.
At speeds above 20 to 25 miles per hour hybrid
cars likely generate enough tire and
aerodynamic noise to make them sufficiently audible, Rosenblum said.
"This research provides evidence that hybrid
cars, when operating in silent mode, pose a
substantial risk to blind people and other
pedestrians. We hope that regulators and car
manufacturers will take notice of these results
and take steps to eliminate this risk," said
Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National
Federation of the Blind, a 50,000-member
advocacy organization for people who are blind or have low vision.
Rosenblum, who is an adviser to the Society of
Automotive Engineers and sits on
committees that make recommendations to the auto
industry, has spent many years
researching perception of approaching cars and
whether there are similarities between
visual and auditory perception of approach.
"I really do feel this is an issue for more than
those who are blind," he said. "We're also
talking about bike riders, runners and others.
Walking around with my kids in a parking
lot makes it very clear that I'm using hearing
and vision to determine where things are."
Rosenblum is continuing the study with greater levels of background noise and
eventually will test people who are blind in
parking lots to determine the level of risk. In
April he will meet with Stanford University
researchers who are developing different
sounds that would enhance the ability of
pedestrians to hear approaching hybrid and
electric cars.
"Everyone's aware of the issue," he said.
However, Rosenblum said, "We are not talking
about major changes to the way automobiles are
designed, but about slightly increasing
their audibility when they are traveling slowly.
Only a subtle sound enhancement should
be required."
Article: email addresses and job applications
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Rolling Rebellion
Greetings. Here's another article on the Capitol Metro saga I received this morning in my email. Enjoy.
Rolling Rebellion at Capital Metro
BY JUSTIN WARD
Critics of Capital Metro's proposed transit cuts to services for the disabled questioned why the agency would spend millions on a spiffy new railcar system.
Photo by John Anderson
The Capital Metro boardroom became the site of a peculiar rebellion Monday. Some of the insurgents rolled in on wheelchairs. Others were led in by dogs.
Instead of pitchforks and torches, they were brandishing canes and walkers.
Filing out of Special Transit Service buses and taxicabs, they packed into Cap Metro's lobby, where they waited to be escorted in groups of four, via the
agency's only elevator, to its second-floor boardroom. Some folks in wheelchairs had trouble making it through the front door after the button that opens
it malfunctioned at a most inopportune time. Those who arrived early had the good fortune of picking up one of the few agendas printed in braille. Those
who didn't had to borrow one. Despite the logistical challenges of getting to the meeting (both to the building and the room itself), the boardroom was
soon filled wall to wall with wheelchairs - underneath every other chair was a Seeing Eye dog curling up inconspicuously.
The motivation behind the uprising? Many with disabilities are outraged over Cap Metro's planned cuts to STS, also known as paratransit services. Under
the Americans With Disabilities Act, Cap Metro must provide service to riders with disabilities that is "parallel" to regular service. This means that
Cap Metro must supplement its fleet with special cars and vans, which provide curb-to-curb service to those who cannot ride a fixed-route bus because of
their disabilities.
Cap Metro contends that changes are necessary to rein in STS spending, which has risen by more than 80% in six years. During the 2006-2007 fiscal year,
Cap Metro spent $26.9 million - about 19% of the operating budget - on paratransit, which serves 2% of its ridership. To reduce costs, Cap Metro argues
that it must streamline paratransit - by cutting regular taxi vouchers, increasing penalties for no-shows, minimizing the number of riders who are eligible,
and cutting the hours when live operators will be in the STS call center.
Opponents at the meeting say the cuts will make a system already fraught with problems even worse. They most fiercely opposed the proposed elimination
of subscription taxi vouchers. Currently, those who qualify can receive daily vouchers for regular taxi rides to work, doctors' appointments, or dialysis
treatment. Under the proposed changes, taxi vouchers will only be used to handle overflow from standard STS vehicles.
Cap Metro officials say the vouchers are wasteful, unnecessary, and vulnerable to fraud, citing past instances where more than $100,000 was reportedly
paid to a single cabbie in one year. Hannah Riddering, a Yellow Cab operator who often carries passengers with disabilities, said fraud in the program
is exaggerated by Cap Metro and the media. "Capital Metro staff uses 'cabdriver fraud' as a bludgeon," she said. Voucher fraud was limited to a few bad
apples, who were fired more than two years ago, Riddering said, and she blames Cap Metro's lax oversight. Yellow Cab, not Cap Metro, first discovered the
abuse, she said.
Pat Bartel, who is blind and frequently uses vouchers, told the board that despite what Cap Metro is claiming, vouchers are actually cheaper than rides
in STS vehicles. According to the 2006-2007 budget, taxi vouchers accounted for $3.2 million, or 11.8% of the total paratransit budget. The maximum taxi
voucher allowed per ride is $14, while the average cost-per-ride for all STS services, including taxis and STS vehicles, is $46.50, the bulk of which goes
to maintaining its fleet and paying drivers. Others noted that STS buses often waste resources because Cap Metro will sometimes use an entire bus to transport
one person.
Cap Metro originally planned to eliminate vouchers in March and did so, briefly, until a successful lawsuit brought by the Texas Civil Rights Project forced
the agency to reinstate them. When Cap Metro abruptly stopped issuing vouchers without warning, it severely impacted those who had depended on them, including
Cheryl Fszol, who says she lost her job as a result. Fszol suffers from seizures brought on by stress and also paralyzing migraines from a brain tumor.
The STS vans dropped her off an hour before work each day. Her boss wouldn't allow her to go into the building until someone else showed up, so she would
sit outside in the dark, often having seizures in the parking lot from the stress. She was fired from her job, she said, because the company did not want
to be liable if she were injured from her seizures.
Cap Metro originally planned to implement the changes without a public hearing, despite Federal Transit Administration regulations that require public
participation whenever there are changes to paratransit policy. The changes were billed as "procedural" rather than changes in policy, so it was deemed
unnecessary to hold a hearing. Cap Metro Access Advisory Committee members took turns blasting STS Director Inez Evans for failing to consult directly
with the committee or with the disabled community at-large. "All of these changes were just rammed through," said Malcolm Graham, who is blind and a member
of the access committee. "They presented [them] as if it were a done deal."
Evans opted to bypass the access committee altogether and hired a consulting firm called Texas Citizen Fund. The firm was paid $27,000 to conduct six focus
groups, which had a total of 174 participants. The firm apparently told Cap Metro exactly what it wanted to hear: that everyone approved, with the exception
of a few minor complaints that required tinkering.
Many opponents say Evans is the driving force behind the proposed changes, though she insists that these events were set into motion long before she took
the position. She cited a report from two years ago, which made many of the same recommendations. Bartel said that what Evans is doing in Austin is consistent
with her history in the transit industry. Evans worked for a company called MV Transportation, which is the paratransit equivalent of an efficiency expert,
Bartel said, with a pattern of reducing services to the minimum required by ADA.
When MV took over paratransit service in Washington, D.C., Evans was put in charge. The Washington Post reported in 2006: "In the first three weeks under
the new contractor [MV], Metro received record numbers of complaints from riders, thousands of whom said they were stranded, picked up late or mistreated
by drivers or reservationists. MV executives have blamed poor data from [the former contractor], the learning curve of new drivers and reservationists,
and telephone problems." Evans resigned from MV after six months on the job. She insists that it was purely a personal decision to take a better job in
California.
Evans plans to bring in an outside contractor to do what is called a "functional assessment" of STS riders, to determine if they are physically capable
of riding a fixed-route bus, with the intent of bumping riders from STS rolls. But wheelchair-bound riders are concerned that an influx of wheelchairs
on buses will be problematic, since all buses only have two wheelchair spots. If both spots are taken, then riders will have to wait as long as an hour
for the next bus. Also, the examinations would require riders to turn over personal medical information to Cap Metro, which they consider an invasion of
privacy.
Some at the meeting urged Cap Metro to get its priorities straight. Several speakers said it is appalling that the agency can cough up $100 million to
build a commuter train, yet it has to cut services for the disabled in the name of saving money. "Many of the comments in the media make it seem like we
were riding in limousines," said Richard Villa, who is blind. "I think most of us - if we had a choice - wouldn't use the system, at all."
Rolling Rebellion at Capital Metro
BY JUSTIN WARD
Critics of Capital Metro's proposed transit cuts to services for the disabled questioned why the agency would spend millions on a spiffy new railcar system.
Photo by John Anderson
The Capital Metro boardroom became the site of a peculiar rebellion Monday. Some of the insurgents rolled in on wheelchairs. Others were led in by dogs.
Instead of pitchforks and torches, they were brandishing canes and walkers.
Filing out of Special Transit Service buses and taxicabs, they packed into Cap Metro's lobby, where they waited to be escorted in groups of four, via the
agency's only elevator, to its second-floor boardroom. Some folks in wheelchairs had trouble making it through the front door after the button that opens
it malfunctioned at a most inopportune time. Those who arrived early had the good fortune of picking up one of the few agendas printed in braille. Those
who didn't had to borrow one. Despite the logistical challenges of getting to the meeting (both to the building and the room itself), the boardroom was
soon filled wall to wall with wheelchairs - underneath every other chair was a Seeing Eye dog curling up inconspicuously.
The motivation behind the uprising? Many with disabilities are outraged over Cap Metro's planned cuts to STS, also known as paratransit services. Under
the Americans With Disabilities Act, Cap Metro must provide service to riders with disabilities that is "parallel" to regular service. This means that
Cap Metro must supplement its fleet with special cars and vans, which provide curb-to-curb service to those who cannot ride a fixed-route bus because of
their disabilities.
Cap Metro contends that changes are necessary to rein in STS spending, which has risen by more than 80% in six years. During the 2006-2007 fiscal year,
Cap Metro spent $26.9 million - about 19% of the operating budget - on paratransit, which serves 2% of its ridership. To reduce costs, Cap Metro argues
that it must streamline paratransit - by cutting regular taxi vouchers, increasing penalties for no-shows, minimizing the number of riders who are eligible,
and cutting the hours when live operators will be in the STS call center.
Opponents at the meeting say the cuts will make a system already fraught with problems even worse. They most fiercely opposed the proposed elimination
of subscription taxi vouchers. Currently, those who qualify can receive daily vouchers for regular taxi rides to work, doctors' appointments, or dialysis
treatment. Under the proposed changes, taxi vouchers will only be used to handle overflow from standard STS vehicles.
Cap Metro officials say the vouchers are wasteful, unnecessary, and vulnerable to fraud, citing past instances where more than $100,000 was reportedly
paid to a single cabbie in one year. Hannah Riddering, a Yellow Cab operator who often carries passengers with disabilities, said fraud in the program
is exaggerated by Cap Metro and the media. "Capital Metro staff uses 'cabdriver fraud' as a bludgeon," she said. Voucher fraud was limited to a few bad
apples, who were fired more than two years ago, Riddering said, and she blames Cap Metro's lax oversight. Yellow Cab, not Cap Metro, first discovered the
abuse, she said.
Pat Bartel, who is blind and frequently uses vouchers, told the board that despite what Cap Metro is claiming, vouchers are actually cheaper than rides
in STS vehicles. According to the 2006-2007 budget, taxi vouchers accounted for $3.2 million, or 11.8% of the total paratransit budget. The maximum taxi
voucher allowed per ride is $14, while the average cost-per-ride for all STS services, including taxis and STS vehicles, is $46.50, the bulk of which goes
to maintaining its fleet and paying drivers. Others noted that STS buses often waste resources because Cap Metro will sometimes use an entire bus to transport
one person.
Cap Metro originally planned to eliminate vouchers in March and did so, briefly, until a successful lawsuit brought by the Texas Civil Rights Project forced
the agency to reinstate them. When Cap Metro abruptly stopped issuing vouchers without warning, it severely impacted those who had depended on them, including
Cheryl Fszol, who says she lost her job as a result. Fszol suffers from seizures brought on by stress and also paralyzing migraines from a brain tumor.
The STS vans dropped her off an hour before work each day. Her boss wouldn't allow her to go into the building until someone else showed up, so she would
sit outside in the dark, often having seizures in the parking lot from the stress. She was fired from her job, she said, because the company did not want
to be liable if she were injured from her seizures.
Cap Metro originally planned to implement the changes without a public hearing, despite Federal Transit Administration regulations that require public
participation whenever there are changes to paratransit policy. The changes were billed as "procedural" rather than changes in policy, so it was deemed
unnecessary to hold a hearing. Cap Metro Access Advisory Committee members took turns blasting STS Director Inez Evans for failing to consult directly
with the committee or with the disabled community at-large. "All of these changes were just rammed through," said Malcolm Graham, who is blind and a member
of the access committee. "They presented [them] as if it were a done deal."
Evans opted to bypass the access committee altogether and hired a consulting firm called Texas Citizen Fund. The firm was paid $27,000 to conduct six focus
groups, which had a total of 174 participants. The firm apparently told Cap Metro exactly what it wanted to hear: that everyone approved, with the exception
of a few minor complaints that required tinkering.
Many opponents say Evans is the driving force behind the proposed changes, though she insists that these events were set into motion long before she took
the position. She cited a report from two years ago, which made many of the same recommendations. Bartel said that what Evans is doing in Austin is consistent
with her history in the transit industry. Evans worked for a company called MV Transportation, which is the paratransit equivalent of an efficiency expert,
Bartel said, with a pattern of reducing services to the minimum required by ADA.
When MV took over paratransit service in Washington, D.C., Evans was put in charge. The Washington Post reported in 2006: "In the first three weeks under
the new contractor [MV], Metro received record numbers of complaints from riders, thousands of whom said they were stranded, picked up late or mistreated
by drivers or reservationists. MV executives have blamed poor data from [the former contractor], the learning curve of new drivers and reservationists,
and telephone problems." Evans resigned from MV after six months on the job. She insists that it was purely a personal decision to take a better job in
California.
Evans plans to bring in an outside contractor to do what is called a "functional assessment" of STS riders, to determine if they are physically capable
of riding a fixed-route bus, with the intent of bumping riders from STS rolls. But wheelchair-bound riders are concerned that an influx of wheelchairs
on buses will be problematic, since all buses only have two wheelchair spots. If both spots are taken, then riders will have to wait as long as an hour
for the next bus. Also, the examinations would require riders to turn over personal medical information to Cap Metro, which they consider an invasion of
privacy.
Some at the meeting urged Cap Metro to get its priorities straight. Several speakers said it is appalling that the agency can cough up $100 million to
build a commuter train, yet it has to cut services for the disabled in the name of saving money. "Many of the comments in the media make it seem like we
were riding in limousines," said Richard Villa, who is blind. "I think most of us - if we had a choice - wouldn't use the system, at all."
Friday, April 4
Stream: Daniel voice released
Greetings. I received the following notification from HumanWare regarding the release of the Daniel U.K. voice for the Victor Reader Stream. If you're perfectly happy with the Tom or Samantha voices, then there's no reason to change to this one. If however you want to check out this new voice, then by all means install it on your Stream by following the instructions outlined below. As the email says, there's no feature changes between the different voices. And, you cannot have more than one voice on your Stream at any one time. Enjoy.
Dear Victor Reader Stream Customer:
An alternative Stream software with the English U.K. male (Daniel) TTS voice is now available for download at:
http://www.humanware.com/en-canada/support/victor_reader_stream
This alternative version 1.2 software has a male TTS English U.K. voice (Daniel) and can be downloaded to replace the software with the female Samantha voice currently shipped on all English Streams. The Daniel voice will be shipped with future U.K. Streams. If you wish to change back to Samantha female TTS voice you can download and re-install the alternative UPG from the same page.
The functionality of the software is the same for both downloads. Only the TTS voice differs. The complete list of new features for version 1.2 and the installation instructions can be found in the What's New document in the documentation list on the same above web page. This support page also has links to listen to all Vocalizer TTS voices.
To summarize the Stream software Installation:
- download the zip file with your choice of TTS voice
- Unzip the single UPG upgrade file. You do not require special unzip software with Windows XP or Vista. Simply press Enter on the downloaded zip file and the UPG file will be shown. You can then copy the UPG file to the clipboard and paste it into the root of the Stream SD card.
- Insert the card into the Stream, connect the Stream to AC power, and turn it on.
- The Stream will recognize the special UPG file and initiate the upgrade process. Audio messages will inform you of the start and end of the update process.
- Remove the UPG file from your SD card after updating.
Thank you.
The HumanWare Support Team
Dear Victor Reader Stream Customer:
An alternative Stream software with the English U.K. male (Daniel) TTS voice is now available for download at:
http://www.humanware.com/en-canada/support/victor_reader_stream
This alternative version 1.2 software has a male TTS English U.K. voice (Daniel) and can be downloaded to replace the software with the female Samantha voice currently shipped on all English Streams. The Daniel voice will be shipped with future U.K. Streams. If you wish to change back to Samantha female TTS voice you can download and re-install the alternative UPG from the same page.
The functionality of the software is the same for both downloads. Only the TTS voice differs. The complete list of new features for version 1.2 and the installation instructions can be found in the What's New document in the documentation list on the same above web page. This support page also has links to listen to all Vocalizer TTS voices.
To summarize the Stream software Installation:
- download the zip file with your choice of TTS voice
- Unzip the single UPG upgrade file. You do not require special unzip software with Windows XP or Vista. Simply press Enter on the downloaded zip file and the UPG file will be shown. You can then copy the UPG file to the clipboard and paste it into the root of the Stream SD card.
- Insert the card into the Stream, connect the Stream to AC power, and turn it on.
- The Stream will recognize the special UPG file and initiate the upgrade process. Audio messages will inform you of the start and end of the update process.
- Remove the UPG file from your SD card after updating.
Thank you.
The HumanWare Support Team
Personal update
Greetings. Well, its been awhile since I've put up an update on what's been happening with me, and a lot has happened in the past few weeks.
First off, and perhaps most notable, when I came back from the Easter weekend with my family up in Dallas, I also brought back a throat infection. I went to the doctor and they took a culture, which turned up negative for strep throat, but the infection has kept me from work since before the Easter break. The last day that I was at work was on Good Friday. When I came back from Dallas, I had no voice.
Its not been all bad though. The week of Good Friday, I took the plunge and bought a new Windows Vista Home Premium computer. I've neded a new machine anyway since my current one had been going for 5 years. It could have probably done another few years, but I wanted to upgrade to newer equipment and software. So, during the time that I've been at home recooporating, I've spent some of that time on the new computer. I don't know all the technical stuff, but suffice it to say that this new system is powerful. I'm of the opinion that if you can, when you buy a computer, try and get more power than you actually need so you don't fall too far behind in power later. This new system doesn't disappoint either having 3 gigs of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive, plus a TV tuner, built in card reader, CD/DVD reader/burner, one of the new HD Blue Ray DVD Reader/burner drives, and other things. Anyway, its a great system. For the record, its a Gateway DX441X, which I would highly recommend. When i got it, it came with a free 19" wide screen monitor, which I was told was a $219 value. Over all, I'm impressed by this computer and have had fun, for the most part, in getting to know Vista. I'll write in a different post on my thoughts of Vista so far. I say "for the most part" because last Monday, I had an interesting thing come up.
I was tinkering around in my system's settings, trying to fix my speaker's audio orientation, when I accidentally muted the speaker. I'm still not totally sure how that happened. Well, what's a blind guy to do when the sound card's been muted? There's no sound from JAWS, and even if you plug in the headphones, there's still no sound. Nothing from Narrator, Microsoft's minor solution for a screen reader. Might as well call someone over, which I did. When one of my neighbors arrived and saw my computer, after commenting that it was a nice system, she said, "Your monitor's not working." Here's an interesting and ironic thing, a monitor that doesn't work for a blind guy. As a quick side note, I got a monitor in the first place precisely because there may be times like this when I need someone to read the screen so I know what's happening. It just so happens that this method didn't work out too well for me this particular time. Well, we spent the next couple of hours trying to figure out what the problem was, even calling Gateway tech support. At one point, I turned to my neighbor and jokingly said, "Well, aren't we in a fix: neither of us can use the computer since its not talking to me and not showing anything to you." We both got a good laugh out of that. Usually one of those is the case for me, but not both at the same time. Anyway, at one point, God bless her, the Gateway support representative asked me why I had just now noticed the monitor wasn't working. To which I explained, calmly, that since I was blind, and since I had no reason to use my monitor, this was the first person who I had over and has commented that my monitor wasn't working. Otherwise, I would have been clueless to the whole thing. Well, long story short, after testing the new monitor with my old computer, we finally determined that a crucial adapter wasn't included with my system in order for the monitor to work properly. Gateway sent me the adapter via FedEx and I received it today. When I called another friend earlier this evening to come over and check things to make sure it was working, the monitor was working fine. We were prompted to perform a system restore, which we did, and all was working great again, even the sound had come back. I had experienced one other issue with Internet Explorer, but I called Gateway again earlier this evening and the helpful representative and I were able to get that one fixed as well. So, as of now and for the moment, all appears to be working fine. So much for not getting too technical in this post, :)
I've filed my taxes for another year. That always feels good, to independently file your taxes and have the tax man say, when shaking your hand, "See you next year." This time I took a cab to and from, since I had scheduled the appointment for during the day since I was home anyway. And, I'll be getting another refund again this year, not as much as last year, but a refund all the same. I also qualify for the rebate checks that will be sent out in May or June. So, I suppose between the refund and the rebate check, I'm getting more than I usually get, which is good. All in all, I'm pleased with how things went.
That's about all for now. I'm off to tinker, though not like I did last Monday, play with and enjoy my new system some more. Have a good weekend.
First off, and perhaps most notable, when I came back from the Easter weekend with my family up in Dallas, I also brought back a throat infection. I went to the doctor and they took a culture, which turned up negative for strep throat, but the infection has kept me from work since before the Easter break. The last day that I was at work was on Good Friday. When I came back from Dallas, I had no voice.
Its not been all bad though. The week of Good Friday, I took the plunge and bought a new Windows Vista Home Premium computer. I've neded a new machine anyway since my current one had been going for 5 years. It could have probably done another few years, but I wanted to upgrade to newer equipment and software. So, during the time that I've been at home recooporating, I've spent some of that time on the new computer. I don't know all the technical stuff, but suffice it to say that this new system is powerful. I'm of the opinion that if you can, when you buy a computer, try and get more power than you actually need so you don't fall too far behind in power later. This new system doesn't disappoint either having 3 gigs of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive, plus a TV tuner, built in card reader, CD/DVD reader/burner, one of the new HD Blue Ray DVD Reader/burner drives, and other things. Anyway, its a great system. For the record, its a Gateway DX441X, which I would highly recommend. When i got it, it came with a free 19" wide screen monitor, which I was told was a $219 value. Over all, I'm impressed by this computer and have had fun, for the most part, in getting to know Vista. I'll write in a different post on my thoughts of Vista so far. I say "for the most part" because last Monday, I had an interesting thing come up.
I was tinkering around in my system's settings, trying to fix my speaker's audio orientation, when I accidentally muted the speaker. I'm still not totally sure how that happened. Well, what's a blind guy to do when the sound card's been muted? There's no sound from JAWS, and even if you plug in the headphones, there's still no sound. Nothing from Narrator, Microsoft's minor solution for a screen reader. Might as well call someone over, which I did. When one of my neighbors arrived and saw my computer, after commenting that it was a nice system, she said, "Your monitor's not working." Here's an interesting and ironic thing, a monitor that doesn't work for a blind guy. As a quick side note, I got a monitor in the first place precisely because there may be times like this when I need someone to read the screen so I know what's happening. It just so happens that this method didn't work out too well for me this particular time. Well, we spent the next couple of hours trying to figure out what the problem was, even calling Gateway tech support. At one point, I turned to my neighbor and jokingly said, "Well, aren't we in a fix: neither of us can use the computer since its not talking to me and not showing anything to you." We both got a good laugh out of that. Usually one of those is the case for me, but not both at the same time. Anyway, at one point, God bless her, the Gateway support representative asked me why I had just now noticed the monitor wasn't working. To which I explained, calmly, that since I was blind, and since I had no reason to use my monitor, this was the first person who I had over and has commented that my monitor wasn't working. Otherwise, I would have been clueless to the whole thing. Well, long story short, after testing the new monitor with my old computer, we finally determined that a crucial adapter wasn't included with my system in order for the monitor to work properly. Gateway sent me the adapter via FedEx and I received it today. When I called another friend earlier this evening to come over and check things to make sure it was working, the monitor was working fine. We were prompted to perform a system restore, which we did, and all was working great again, even the sound had come back. I had experienced one other issue with Internet Explorer, but I called Gateway again earlier this evening and the helpful representative and I were able to get that one fixed as well. So, as of now and for the moment, all appears to be working fine. So much for not getting too technical in this post, :)
I've filed my taxes for another year. That always feels good, to independently file your taxes and have the tax man say, when shaking your hand, "See you next year." This time I took a cab to and from, since I had scheduled the appointment for during the day since I was home anyway. And, I'll be getting another refund again this year, not as much as last year, but a refund all the same. I also qualify for the rebate checks that will be sent out in May or June. So, I suppose between the refund and the rebate check, I'm getting more than I usually get, which is good. All in all, I'm pleased with how things went.
That's about all for now. I'm off to tinker, though not like I did last Monday, play with and enjoy my new system some more. Have a good weekend.
Monday, March 31
Pedestrians and quiet cars
Greetings. Below is an important article about quiet cars. This could be a growing problem for the blind or anyone that crosses streets by walking. I recognize that quiet cars means less noise in the environment. However, I also know that if I can't hear a car at an intersection, then that could pose problems for me as a blind pedestrian, or anyone who may not see the hazard, for whatever reason. Perhaps its a jogger enjoying their iPod too much, a mother with several kids, someone pulling or pushing a cart of some sort, etc.
The article references that Guide Dogs for the Blind in California has acquired a hybrid car to use in their training. A coworker recently told me that The Seeing Eye, a similar guide dog school in New Jersey, has also added a quiet car to their training of dogs and students. For those that may not be aware, these are the two largest and most well known, and two of the best, guide dog schools in the U.S. Having them add quiet cars to their training activities will hopefully be the beginning step in preparing the blind, the sighted, and other guide dog schools, in the awareness of quiet cars. Enjoy.
From the Los Angeles Times
Blind pedestrians may not hear hybrid cars
Cars that are quiet while in electric mode may provide
no warning to pedestrians.
By Martin Zimmerman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2008
Are hybrid cars too quiet for their own good?
Jana Littrell certainly thinks so. Littrell, who is
blind, was walking through a bank parking lot in the
East Bay town of Albany a year ago when her foot
was run over by a Toyota Prius backing out of a
parking space. She wasn't injured and the driver
apologized effusively, she recalled. But the
experience
shook her up.
"It has definitely put me more on my guard," said
Littrell, who teaches Braille to newly blind adults.
"But I don't know how much good that's going to do
me if I can't hear the car coming."
Concerns are growing that quiet-running hybrids such
as the Prius pose a hazard to pedestrians, especially
the 1.3 million Americans who are legally blind.
The problem occurs when the cars are running at very
low speeds on electric power, making about as much
noise as a golf cart.
"There's this silent-but-deadly zone where we cannot
hear these cars," said Bryan Bashin, a Sacramento
management consultant. "We're not just worried about
blind people. It's a hazard to pets, joggers, young
children, cyclists, people who have their back turned.
. . ."
Federal traffic safety regulators report that no
deaths or serious injuries have been attributed to
quiet-running hybrids. But an ongoing study at UC
Riverside
has produced some of the first scientific evidence
that hybrids may pose a hazard to pedestrians,
according to preliminary results to be released today.
Meanwhile, the issue is drawing attention from the
auto industry, state lawmakers and federal regulators.
It even spawned at least one Silicon Valley start-up
that's trying to develop an audible pedestrian warning
system for hybrids.
Bashin, who is sightless, is working with the National
Federation of the Blind to push legislation that could
eventually require installation of "noise
emitting" devices on hybrids and other vehicles that
run at least part of the time on electric power.
That prospect doesn't sit well with some car owners.
The message board at
greenhybrid.com,
a website for hybrid enthusiasts, has seen lively
debates over the issue. In one recent post, a Toyota
Camry hybrid owner wrote that "the world around us
is getting louder and along come hybrids and WHAM!
They get blasted by a group claiming they are too
quiet."
The debate comes as hybrids are becoming increasingly
common. More than 350,000 were sold in the U.S. last
year, according to marketing information firm
J.D. Power and Associates.
Prius owner Sarah Forth of Silver Lake knows the issue
from both sides.
"I noticed the cars creeping up on me when I was
walking around," Forth recalled. "After I got one, I
put two and two together and realized, 'I'm a road
hazard in this car.' "
The vehicles are powered by a combination of gasoline
and electricity and are prized for their fuel economy.
They're particularly popular in California,
which buys almost half the hybrids sold in the U.S. by
Toyota Motor Corp., the leading hybrid maker.
And coming soon: cars powered only by electricity that
produce very little engine noise at any speed
(although, as with hybrids, air flow and tire noise
would become noticeable above 20 or 25 miles per
hour).
Currently, most of the concern is directed at the
top-selling Prius and vehicles such as the Camry that
use similar gasoline-electric engines. The Honda
Civic, the No. 4-selling hybrid in America, is noisier
because it employs a system that almost never switches
into electric-only mode.
The UC Riverside study has found that test subjects
had to be 40% closer to silent-running hybrids than to
cars with traditional gasoline engines before
they could hear them.
"Our preliminary findings could mean that there is an
added danger with hybrid cars, particularly at
intersections and parking lots," said Lawrence
Rosenblum,
a psychology professor doing the study.
Toyota engineers are looking for a solution, but have
yet to come up with one.
"Vehicle safety and pedestrian safety are at the top
of our list," spokesman Bill Kwong said. "At this
point, we're trying to balance the needs of
sight-impaired
people with other sociological concerns such as noise
pollution."
One problem has been in isolating exactly what sounds
most people associate with an approaching vehicle,
such as the engine revving, the fan belt, tire
noise or other sounds. Artificial warning cues "like
chirping or chimes are not identified by test subjects
as a vehicle at all," the automaker said.
Interim solutions include training guide dogs for the
blind to detect cars by sight as well as sound.
Training schools such as Guide Dogs for the Blind
in San Rafael and Guide Dogs of the Desert near Palm
Springs have added Priuses to their training regimens
partly in response to concerns about hybrid
cars.
Longer term, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has promised to launch a wide-ranging
investigation into the issue and several states are
considering legislation. A bill soon to be headed to
the governor of Maryland would create a task force to
conduct a study and recommend solutions.
A group of Stanford University students has formed a
company -- Santa Clara-based Enhanced Vehicle
Acoustics -- that is developing an after-market
product
for Toyota hybrids that goes beyond simply making a
noise to alert nearby pedestrians. For example, by
linking to the vehicle's computer, the system would
be able to direct its sounds to the right or left to
warn pedestrians that the car is about to make a turn.
Bashin and other advocates for the blind are
sympathetic to complaints from hybrid fans. But, he
asked, "what am I supposed to do, stay home?"
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
The article references that Guide Dogs for the Blind in California has acquired a hybrid car to use in their training. A coworker recently told me that The Seeing Eye, a similar guide dog school in New Jersey, has also added a quiet car to their training of dogs and students. For those that may not be aware, these are the two largest and most well known, and two of the best, guide dog schools in the U.S. Having them add quiet cars to their training activities will hopefully be the beginning step in preparing the blind, the sighted, and other guide dog schools, in the awareness of quiet cars. Enjoy.
From the Los Angeles Times
Blind pedestrians may not hear hybrid cars
Cars that are quiet while in electric mode may provide
no warning to pedestrians.
By Martin Zimmerman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2008
Are hybrid cars too quiet for their own good?
Jana Littrell certainly thinks so. Littrell, who is
blind, was walking through a bank parking lot in the
East Bay town of Albany a year ago when her foot
was run over by a Toyota Prius backing out of a
parking space. She wasn't injured and the driver
apologized effusively, she recalled. But the
experience
shook her up.
"It has definitely put me more on my guard," said
Littrell, who teaches Braille to newly blind adults.
"But I don't know how much good that's going to do
me if I can't hear the car coming."
Concerns are growing that quiet-running hybrids such
as the Prius pose a hazard to pedestrians, especially
the 1.3 million Americans who are legally blind.
The problem occurs when the cars are running at very
low speeds on electric power, making about as much
noise as a golf cart.
"There's this silent-but-deadly zone where we cannot
hear these cars," said Bryan Bashin, a Sacramento
management consultant. "We're not just worried about
blind people. It's a hazard to pets, joggers, young
children, cyclists, people who have their back turned.
. . ."
Federal traffic safety regulators report that no
deaths or serious injuries have been attributed to
quiet-running hybrids. But an ongoing study at UC
Riverside
has produced some of the first scientific evidence
that hybrids may pose a hazard to pedestrians,
according to preliminary results to be released today.
Meanwhile, the issue is drawing attention from the
auto industry, state lawmakers and federal regulators.
It even spawned at least one Silicon Valley start-up
that's trying to develop an audible pedestrian warning
system for hybrids.
Bashin, who is sightless, is working with the National
Federation of the Blind to push legislation that could
eventually require installation of "noise
emitting" devices on hybrids and other vehicles that
run at least part of the time on electric power.
That prospect doesn't sit well with some car owners.
The message board at
greenhybrid.com,
a website for hybrid enthusiasts, has seen lively
debates over the issue. In one recent post, a Toyota
Camry hybrid owner wrote that "the world around us
is getting louder and along come hybrids and WHAM!
They get blasted by a group claiming they are too
quiet."
The debate comes as hybrids are becoming increasingly
common. More than 350,000 were sold in the U.S. last
year, according to marketing information firm
J.D. Power and Associates.
Prius owner Sarah Forth of Silver Lake knows the issue
from both sides.
"I noticed the cars creeping up on me when I was
walking around," Forth recalled. "After I got one, I
put two and two together and realized, 'I'm a road
hazard in this car.' "
The vehicles are powered by a combination of gasoline
and electricity and are prized for their fuel economy.
They're particularly popular in California,
which buys almost half the hybrids sold in the U.S. by
Toyota Motor Corp., the leading hybrid maker.
And coming soon: cars powered only by electricity that
produce very little engine noise at any speed
(although, as with hybrids, air flow and tire noise
would become noticeable above 20 or 25 miles per
hour).
Currently, most of the concern is directed at the
top-selling Prius and vehicles such as the Camry that
use similar gasoline-electric engines. The Honda
Civic, the No. 4-selling hybrid in America, is noisier
because it employs a system that almost never switches
into electric-only mode.
The UC Riverside study has found that test subjects
had to be 40% closer to silent-running hybrids than to
cars with traditional gasoline engines before
they could hear them.
"Our preliminary findings could mean that there is an
added danger with hybrid cars, particularly at
intersections and parking lots," said Lawrence
Rosenblum,
a psychology professor doing the study.
Toyota engineers are looking for a solution, but have
yet to come up with one.
"Vehicle safety and pedestrian safety are at the top
of our list," spokesman Bill Kwong said. "At this
point, we're trying to balance the needs of
sight-impaired
people with other sociological concerns such as noise
pollution."
One problem has been in isolating exactly what sounds
most people associate with an approaching vehicle,
such as the engine revving, the fan belt, tire
noise or other sounds. Artificial warning cues "like
chirping or chimes are not identified by test subjects
as a vehicle at all," the automaker said.
Interim solutions include training guide dogs for the
blind to detect cars by sight as well as sound.
Training schools such as Guide Dogs for the Blind
in San Rafael and Guide Dogs of the Desert near Palm
Springs have added Priuses to their training regimens
partly in response to concerns about hybrid
cars.
Longer term, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has promised to launch a wide-ranging
investigation into the issue and several states are
considering legislation. A bill soon to be headed to
the governor of Maryland would create a task force to
conduct a study and recommend solutions.
A group of Stanford University students has formed a
company -- Santa Clara-based Enhanced Vehicle
Acoustics -- that is developing an after-market
product
for Toyota hybrids that goes beyond simply making a
noise to alert nearby pedestrians. For example, by
linking to the vehicle's computer, the system would
be able to direct its sounds to the right or left to
warn pedestrians that the car is about to make a turn.
Bashin and other advocates for the blind are
sympathetic to complaints from hybrid fans. But, he
asked, "what am I supposed to do, stay home?"
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
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