Hybrid Cars Can Hurt the Blind

Eddie Farah

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People who rely on sound to make their way through life can usually rely on the sound of a motor to gauge the safety of a street. But the National Federation of the Blind fear that the nearly silent hybrids may be too quiet for the blind.

Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida along with Rep. Ed Towns of New York, have drafted a bill that would make hybrids noisier. Called the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act the bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to begin two years of study so industry can determine how to make a noise in hybrids so blind pedestrians can hear them.

The National Federation of the Blind applauds the bill for pedestrians now and in the future.

An instructor at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, Peter Sandberg, tells Channel 4, “When they’re crossing the street, they can use traffic sounds to get them straight across the street.” Keisha Scott has been blind since eighth grade and she says ‘You have to pay attention because every noise does count.”

Scott says the proposal sounds like a winner to her. #