Blind Drivers Hit The Road

Blind drivers are taking a test spin in a new vehicle that allows them to cruise without seeing. Built by mechanical engineers at Virginia Tech, the vehicle could pave the way for a change in perceptions of the blind. James Williams reports.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• blind
• cars
• technology
• computers
• james
• williams
• va
• tech
• nfb

[lostaznking]

mmm... i think its called a taxi lol

unless there is gonna be some new auto pilot technology... i don't know if i could trust the blind behind the wheel. i can barely trust drivers that CAN see

[lcylyq]

Can they be scarier then female drivers ?

[Myrtone]

Most cars can carry four or five peolpe, and given the attetion and thinking driving requires, the the "independence and freedom" perception really justified.

[breezylu]

@LegendaryFrost I hope you or no one you are close to becomes blind because your ignorance would ruin you. There is very little a blind person cannot do without the right technology--- the only thing stopping us is attitude. We CAN use the "interweb", as well as iphones and ATMs. We have facebooks and twitters. We are lawyers and archaeologists, politicians and teachers. How dare you demean us? Please educate yourself before spewing hate.

[hoyaboy32]

I wanna see them play a pc game...

[Bryan198026]

It's bound to be more than 3000 dollars. It's a car. And most of us unemployed folks don't have that kind of money. As for it being driven I'm still not convinced. Call me a pecimist if you want but driving it on a race track is one thing. On the freeway is going to be another matter entirely. And like it or not but there could very well be legal trouble for us all if a blind person gets into an accident. It won't matter to the sighted that they get into accidents all the time.

[OmorosePanya]

@ScorpioFuror They made it with a $3,000 grant. I'm not sure how much the actual car is, but it's currently a hybrid ford escape and you can look it up. It appears as though the modifications are only going to cost about as much as it initially cost them, so "at least" $400k is an entirely obnoxious estimate.

[OmorosePanya]

@Dukesy19 Does the same logic not apply to sighted drivers? I'd argue that it's much more difficult to not pay attention with something like this because you are always being reminded of it, with your hands, your ears, you back and your legs, as opposed to a regular car where you only HAVE to rely upon your sight, really.

[OmorosePanya]

@Bryan198026 There are going to be accidents, just like there are accidents with the sighted, and yet nobody tells them to not drive. That's kinda the point.

It's $3000 dollars. What's wrong with spending that on technology that makes history?

Your comment was made 6 months ago so you may already know that the car has already debuted and is scheduled to be completed June of either this or next year.

[OmorosePanya]

@ZliaBR No, they've already debuted the actual car (a hybrid ford escape) at the Daytona races. They want this to be something that will take off. They plan to have it 100% finished June of either this or next year.

They acknowledge that the obstacle is not the car itself but societal acceptance. They want to prove that the blind are not incompetent, as people seem to think. You could review the comment sections of any such video for evidence of that.

[ZliaBR]

@PotaterFilms They missed the point of the video: blind guy wants to EXPERIENCE what others EXPERIENCE, not necessarily be independent drivers in a cage... That is more of a chore than fun...

[ZliaBR]

@TAFHUC LOL