Ridiculous Headline of the day!

Hybrid Cars Pose Risk to Blind, Visually Impaired!

In continuing coverage from a previous edition of First Look, HealthDay reported, "Because they can be nearly silent, hybrid cars pose a serious threat of injury and death to blind and visually impaired people," according to the American Council of the Blind (ACB).

Really, there is no winning in this world. I know, I'm an optometrist, I love helping people see better/feel better. But this was taking it a bit far - my opinion!

The council's executive director, Melanie Brunson, explained, "Traditionally, people who are blind or visually impaired learn to rely on their hearing and tactile cues to provide them with information about their environment, which they can use to navigate safely across streets and through...parking lots. In so doing, the sound of traffic is their primary focus." But, without any "sound cues, a blind or visually impaired person is at serious risk." That is because "[t]raffic sounds provide information about such things as the position of vehicles, their direction of travel, their rate of acceleration, and the speed at which they are likely to move."

The ACB is now "pushing the auto industry and government officials to develop ways to reduce this danger." Just "[l]ast week, the U.S. Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration held its first public meeting on the issue."

Posted in: hybrid cars, vision