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Hypersensitivity story of the day Oct 4
Blind Activists Claim Hybrids Are Dangerous
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
WBAL Radio as reported by Robert LangMembers of the National Federation of the Blind are picketing today outside the South Baltimore offices of the Maryland Department of Environment.
They want environmental officials to order the makers of hybrid cars to make changes to the environmentally friendly car.
Chris Danielson says the cars are too quiet when running on their electric battery, and that can be dangerous for blind people trying to cross the street.
Danielson tells WBAL News that he has no statistics on pedestrian accidents involving hybrid cars, but he does say there have been several near misses.
"Several of our members have reported having very close calls with these vehicles, including those here in Baltimore....literally walking out into the street when they thought it was safe and having the car screech to a halt in front of them," Danielson told WBAL News.
Danielson says the federation requested a meeting with officials of the leading auto makers, but he claims the car companies have ignored that request.
State environmental officials today are expected to consider regulations requiring that new cars sold in Maryland meet California emission standards by 2011.
Danielson says he favors the cars, which are considered to be more environmentally friendly. He feels that the the cars can be made safer.
This is the idiot story of the day. At least I hope, since the day is not yet over. Idiots: please don't consider that a challenge...
I have a flash for Mr. Danielson: I have decent hearing, vision that's corrected to 20/20, and according to my doctors, damn good peripheral vision. In spite of all this, I have had "several near misses" when crossing streets on foot, not to mention when driving.
Danielson needs to understand a few things:
- The world is not "safe," and God help us if anyone thinks it should be
- Some drivers are probably trying to frighten or run down blind pedestrians. There are some nasty, perverse, pathological SOBs in this town, and most of them have a driver's license.
- While it's no longer politic to call blindness a "handicap" or a "disability," blind people still get that double tax deduction. Unless they are willing to give up that privilege, I think they need to resign themselves to being inconvenienced now and then. Plenty others of us have problems, some pretty damn serious, and nobody else has parlayed that into an extra tax exemption.
Beside which, what does Mr. Danielson expect the car-makers to do? Perhaps add a little exterior speaker connected to a digital recording of a 5 year old child going "vroom-vroom."
If he were less narrow-minded, Danielson might have suggested that we look for some ways to reduce other urban noise, so the relatively quiet sound of the hybrid electric car might be hear among the din.
For my money, anyone who implies that we need to make any product more noisy is an ass.