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From: Maggi.Weslager@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Maggi Weslager)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Audible traffic lights
Message-ID: <15368@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 2 Nov 90 04:53:32 GMT
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[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 DA> Maggie,  You would still have to listen to traffic, for cars 
 DA> turning right on red etc.  Secondly, when an audible traffic 
 DA> light makes its noise, it is telling you it is safe to cross, 
 DA> but which way.  Should you cross this street or that street?  
 DA> So, either way, you need to listen to traffic flow. David 

The audible traffic lights which I have experienced have also been
exclusive traffic lights, meaning, all traffic stops and the pedestrian
has the exclusive right of way.
        If an intersection did not have an exclusive light, wouldn't the
activation buttons for the traffic light indicate to a sighted as well
as a blind person which street was safe to cross?

        I detect in your mobility messages a strong bias toward cane
use.  I find it quite disheartening to observe such an opinion coming
from a person who claims to have instructed blind individuals in the art
of mobility.  Have you ever entertained the thought of getting a guide
dog?  Prior to getting my dog two years ago, I felt quite satisfied
using a cane.  When my husband Larry fell ill with kidney failure, it
was up to me to maintain his guide dog.  I took Yardley, Larry's dog,
around the neighborhood a couple of times, not a recommended behavior
for an untrained dog user, but nonetheless, it turned out to be my
deciding factor to get myself one of those beasts.  Don't knock it 'til
you've tried it!

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