This Icelandic Crossing Has A Secret Button
As I can’t drive because I have a slight eyesight problem to the left, I always look to see how the countries I visit cater for the blind at road crossings. In the UK, we increasingly find secret buttons under the controls, as described here on the BBC web site.
I must admit that I was surprised to find this crossing control in Iceland.
This Icelandic Crossing Has A Secret Button
It certainly is a little development, that I’d like to see everywhere.
The Anonymous Widower 
What does it do, and how do blind people find it?
Comment by nosnikrapzil | July 20, 2014 |
You just feel under the control and you’ll find this cone. When the lights go green, it turns.
Some areas of the UK haven’t fitted them yet, but in most places I visit, they seem to be fitted.
On the crossing near me, I saw a mother showing her about five year old how to use it. Perhaps, she felt it might distract the child and stop her running across the road. We’ve all led children and know it can be a nightmare!
Comment by AnonW | July 20, 2014 |
Interesting, I presume that the blind people know where the crossing is because of the bumpy flagstones.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | July 20, 2014 |
Having been on a training course with the blind, to be trained as a guider, you’ve hit one preconception, that many of us have about blind people. Many blind people have a certain amount of bad vision, but it’s not good enough to see where the crossing is positioned.
More than forty years ago, I went on a Health and Safety course at ICI and they taught us how to walk around chemical plants in the dark. It’s amazing how with practice, your feet and hands can act as extra eyes. That training has been invaluable since my stroke.
I think we also ought to teach kids how to use the buttons, like that mother was! Just round the corner from me, a young girl with headphones on, anticipated the lights and got run over and killed. If feeling for the button, saved one life it would be worth it.
Comment by AnonW | July 20, 2014 |