When you are on a two lane road if the car in the next lane drives next to you in a certain way you can't see them even if you use your mirrors. Called the blind spot. You avoid it by quickly turning around and looking in the next lane before pulling over. Some of the new cars that on the road, like 2010 Taurus, has a little detector that alerts their drivers when someone is riding in their blind spot. It could decrease the amount of accidents on the road.
Now there may be a new type of driver on the road. Read the amazing invention here:
http://autos.aol.com/article/students-design-car-for-blind/?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl4|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fautos.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fstudents-design-car-for-blind%2F
I am not sure how I feel about this. On one hand I think anything that helps any person disabled or not to live independently is a great idea. On the other hand I wonder if I am going to be at more danger on the road.
Where do you stand? The blind be able to drive, a good idea or a bad idea?
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6 comments:
I have to admit to being really ambivalent about this, Bill. On the one side of the coin, I think it could be a huge independence advantage for those who are visually impaired, such as those with early MD. It could also help "regular" driver, in terms of the blind spot you mentioned. And there are those who are "legally blind" but can still see, especially with assistance of various types.
On the other hand, do I want to be on the road with a blind person? That makes me a bit nervous. People with perfect vision do stupid or foolish things, when it comes to lane changes, sudden realization their turn/exit is just ahead or being concerned about not knowing quite where they're going. It's one of the reasons I like my GPS. It tells me I'm going to go straight for "x" miles or yards, then turn right or left or continue straight and the screen shows upcoming turns, so I can make proper lane changes. I'll admit I don't rely entirely on the voice commands, but also refer to the "map" which shows not only turns, but upcoming streets and such. Can a blind person be directed by voice commands and seat belt vibrations? I honestly don't know. I do know that I'd want a lot more research done, before I was comfortable with the idea, despite the fact I'm in favor of anything that provides more independence. As an example, given Mom's vision issues, I sure as heck wouldn't want her on the road, even in one of the go carts or cars they describe, quite frankly, much as I's like her to have her independence back in that area. It might be one thing for driving in near and familiar areas. To drive 15 miles across town in city traffic - I don't see it happening in my lifetime, but I could be way wrong. I do admire them for their research and what they're trying to accomplish and can see a lot of "side effect" benefits in other areas. Given that fully sighted drivers make so many errors, I'd want to see a lot more research and testing, before I put Mom or anyone blind on the road.
I'm not sure I care much for the idea of someone that sight-impaired driving.
However, about the dreaded "blind spot", haven't you heard of NPR's Car Guy's way to avoid it? We've kept our mirrors set this way for years, and it really, REALLY works. Check the web site and try it out.
Click here
Oh, good grief! It's not bad enough that people are texting while driving, now they're talking about putting blind people behind the wheel?
Not that I think that's a real possibility anytime in my lifetime, and I do think it's great that they can have that experience on a track. The technology may be very advantageous for things like the "blind spot", and already they seem to have cars that can parallel park themselves, so I'm sure more aids to driving are coming. I'm still more confident depending on myself and not some mechanical aid, but I'll reserve judgment until there's something specific to try out, I guess.
Hi DR
From the responses it looks we are all ambivalent about this.
You use your GPS for guidance, my brother in law uses it as a toy. For you it increases safety, for him it decreases safety because he is playing with it while he is driving. I can't help but wonder if the blind for a while wouldn't use it as a toy.
Bill
Hi Mary Z
Interest web site and I will post a link to it in today's post. I am going to print it out and set my mirrors like that.
Bill
Hi Pat
I think I better buy a tank instead of a Taurus. That would make it a little more safe for me on the road.
I'm also more confident depending on me but some might say I am a control freak. It is just that I want the control of the driving.
Bill
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