IIf any proof were needed that town and street planners have started to live in a fantasy world, that demonstrated it. Accidents have reduced they say, of course they have as pedestrians go around the junction instead of using it to cross the bloody road! Brian
Yep I saw it, bloody stupid idea. The person they 'simulated' blindness on should have been taken a lot further away and just left on their own to cross multiple times not just the once.
I assume guide dogs attempting to cross a road are trained to stop and sit when they see oncoming traffic, so even if the traffic stops for the blind person, the dog isn't going to lead that person across the road. And how are drivers supposed to know if a person is blind anyway; not just because they have a dog with them, that's for sure.
You will have a more-informed opinion on that than I do, Brian, but I thought it was crazy.
I think they are trained to stop the poerson crossing if there is on-coming traffic, which is a little differnt. A large van did stop and the dog thou ght it was OK to cross but another vehiclaq from behind didn't stop. As a fully sighted person I often notice this particually at zebra crossing when the lights are red, a considerate driver might stop to allow you to c ross if the traffic is slow in his lane, but the other lane might be free f lowing so you have to be careful in that you can get half way across, for a blind person this is almost impossible to do. (or parents with prams who p ush their kids out first into the road).
They might notice the white stick but the driver in the other lane won't se e it until its too late.
Better get used to it - it's the new thing.
Already appeared around the revamped Longbridge site in Brum.
Remember - local planning rules mean you must never shorten a car journey where you can lengthen it.
And they should not look like they are wearing a blindfold either, just have a white cane and see how the public react. Watch out for them oriental drivers as they seem not to know what a white stick is. brian
Not quite they are trained to stop at tactile or dropped curbs or edges of the curb. Since often there are no easy to identify areas of safety, then they cannot help you, so normally they refuse to go anywhere near traffic at all. The people who design these areas never ask blind people for their input until its already built then it cost loads of dosh to attempt to put it right. Most blind people do not have dogs. Brian
We are told not to cross unless we know the traffic has been stopped by lights. This is where bleeps and rotating cones come into their own. One of the issues is even when there is a crossing, because its all flat, blind people cannot find the button in a sea of sameness. Brian
Yes you got that bit right. It is unfortunately in other countries as well despite all the associations lobbying. What they are in effect doing is moving inconvenient pedestrians to somewhere safer but a longer way around. Exhibition Road in london is a mess even though its supposed to have been designed with tactile chevrons to aid the blind,. Brian
Didn't see it (the one show? yeuch...). But heard about "shared spaces" on the radio quite a while back. Is it an open area with no designated pavement or road, just a flat un marked area. Traffic and pedestrians just freely mix?
I can sort of see it working as both drivers and pedestrians will be so wary of the situation they'll be paying more attention.
Walking up it last night I couldn'e see what the tactile bits in the middle of the pedestrian area were meant to do. Very uncomforatbe to walk on.
Brian-Gaff scribbled
They've pissed around with a nearby village and removed the kerbs and haven't got any road markings. The 'unmakred' disable parking section brings in a nice income for the council. Cars often park right up against shop fronts, which shows how thick many drivers are. Kids have had to be re-educated and they've been told to keep on the kerb all their life, now there isn't one. It's taken a year, but the majority of locals have got used to it now.
That's the theory. Cuts road accidents dramatically.
Trouble is they didn't prove the theory, with facts.
A scheme implemented in London's Kensington High Street, dubbed naked streets in the press reflecting the removal of markings, signage and pedestrian barriers has yielded significant and sustained reductions in injuries to pedestrians. It is reported that, based on two years of 'before and after' monitoring, casualties fell from 71 in the period before the street was remodelled to 40 afterwards a drop of 43%
Suggests we're becoming world leaders ...
Seems a bit suspicious to me I wonder who and how carried out the reports. It seems it can be successful on some streets with a low traffic flow.
I thought the idea came from Holland?
Andy
It might have originated there, but it seems us Brits have drunk the Kool Aid ...
Its the radical idea that a bit of danger stops people being dozy twerps.
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