Navigating steps, pavements, and crossing the road are things that most of us take for granted, but for the visually impaired these everyday activities can pose a huge challenge. Seemingly simple things, such as taking a short cut through the bus station, might become much more difficult to someone who relies on being able to sense daylight to find their way around. Equally, someone who has vision loss due to diabetes, resulting in moving black spots in their field of vision regular obstacles like bins, bollards, or other pedestrians are hard to perceive.
These were all things Transport for Buckinghamshire contract
director Simon Dando experienced when he took on a blind challenge with Lisa
Bryant and Loretta Knibbs from the charity Guide Dogs. Lisa and Loretta came to
County Hall and took Simon on a short walk towards the train station, including
a road crossing, while he tried out different forms of vision loss simulation
eyewear. Simon experienced first-hand the immense challenges faced by visually
impaired pedestrians, as he learned how to cross the road using only tactile paving
underfoot, and the rotating tactile cone on the underside of the crossing
‘wait’ boxes. Lisa and Loretta collected
three out-of-service ‘wait’ boxes from Simon after his challenge, for use with
visually impaired children in Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties.
Lisa Bryant, who emailed Transport for Buckinghamshire in
July enquiring about the possibility of acquiring a ‘wait’ box, explained: “I
emailed TfB on the off chance that they may have one no longer in use which we
might have, and I was so pleased that they managed to produce three for us. The
visually impaired children we work with really benefit from getting used to the
feel of everyday objects in their home environment before attempting to
experience them for real in the outside world. Often children have other issues
as well as visual impairment, for instance they may have anxieties, or ‘tactile
defensiveness’ which means they have an aversion to touch sensations. Allowing
them to become familiar with the ‘wait’ box while still in their comfort zone,
and not out in a busy street, will be really valuable in our work. It will make
a real difference in educating visually impaired children about road safety.”
Of his ‘blind’ experience Simon said: “Even though I was
walking a route I know very well, I was very apprehensive and had to put my
trust in Lisa completely to guide me in the right direction – I have so much
respect for Lisa and Loretta, who guided me through the streets with care and
professionalism. The sensation of stepping into the road without being able to
see everything I usually can was really unnerving. It was an education for me,
and going through the experience of relying on the tactile cone on the wait
boxes helped me to understand why Lisa and Loretta wanted the three
out-of-service wait boxes, which I was more than happy to donate to them.”
Watch the video of Simon's experience on TfB’s YouTube
page, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsirZzBXfvQ
