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Conducted in 2013 at the request of the Braille League, a survey showed that billboards, badly parked cars, terraces and other dog waste were the main obstacles encountered on public roads, cited by blind and visually impaired people. Next came bicycles or motorbikes, garbage cans and waste, and badly or unmarked works…
Carried out at the end of 2022, a similar survey reveals a completely different “prize”. For 22.9% of the 664 respondents (including 14% of blind people), electric scooters, scooters and shared bicycles are now the main obstacles that pose a problem when traveling. Even more so in Brussels, where 49% of those questioned give them priority, while nearly 23% of respondents cite the poor state of the roads as the main obstacle and nearly 18% billboards.
On the good news side, more and more of them say they are satisfied with the aids offered in the public space, such as sound aids at traffic lights (82.7%) or tactile tactile tiles placed on the ground (70, 9%). For Braille panels, this proportion has increased from 11% in 2013 to 28.9% of people satisfied in 2022. Of the three, it is help that seems the least useful, particularly for women and those over 55 years.
Progress but still demands
As for the help offered by passers-by: nothing has really changed. To the question “Do you get help spontaneously on the public highway?”, the answer is divided since 49.8% answer “regularly or from time to time” against 50.2% “rarely or never”.
The Braille League recognizes that in ten years a lot has been achieved at the level of public transport policies and operators, but much remains to be done. And to cite the main requests, starting with the supervision of the use and parking of shared scooters, bicycles and electric scooters. But also more aids such as tactile keypads and sound lights, push buttons that are both vibrating and sound when traffic is too noisy; better lit, clean, passable and unobstructed sidewalks; (even) more inclusive public transport, for example via generalized sound announcements so that visual information no longer escapes blind or visually impaired people; more audible electric vehicles…
Without forgetting a necessary awareness of sighted people to the various problems encountered by their fellow blind and visually impaired.
Conducted in 2013 at the request of the Braille League, a survey showed that billboards, badly parked cars, terraces and other dog waste were the main obstacles encountered on public roads, cited by blind and visually impaired people. Next came bicycles or motorbikes, garbage cans and waste, and badly or unmarked works…
Carried out at the end of 2022, a similar survey reveals a completely different “prize”. For 22.9% of the 664 respondents (including 14% of blind people), electric scooters, scooters and shared bicycles are now the main obstacles that pose a problem when traveling. Even more so in Brussels, where 49% of those questioned give them priority, while nearly 23% of respondents cite the poor state of the roads as the main obstacle and nearly 18% billboards.
On the good news side, more and more of them say they are satisfied with the aids offered in the public space, such as sound aids at traffic lights (82.7%) or tactile tactile tiles placed on the ground (70, 9%). For Braille panels, this proportion has increased from 11% in 2013 to 28.9% of people satisfied in 2022. Of the three, it is help that seems the least useful, particularly for women and those over 55 years.
Progress but still demands
As for the help offered by passers-by: nothing has really changed. To the question “Do you get help spontaneously on the public highway?”, the answer is divided since 49.8% answer “regularly or from time to time” against 50.2% “rarely or never”.
The Braille League recognizes that in ten years a lot has been achieved at the level of public transport policies and operators, but much remains to be done. And to cite the main requests, starting with the supervision of the use and parking of shared scooters, bicycles and electric scooters. But also more aids such as tactile keypads and sound lights, push buttons that are both vibrating and sound when traffic is too noisy; better lit, clean, passable and unobstructed sidewalks; (even) more inclusive public transport, for example via generalized sound announcements so that visual information no longer escapes blind or visually impaired people; more audible electric vehicles…
Without forgetting a necessary awareness of sighted people to the various problems encountered by their fellow blind and visually impaired.
In conclusion, while progress has been made for blind and visually impaired individuals in terms of aids offered in public spaces, the recent survey shows that there is still a lot of work to be done. Electric scooters, shared bicycles, and other vehicles have now become major obstacles for these individuals. The Braille League recognizes that more supervision, aids, and awareness from sighted people are necessary to make public spaces more inclusive for everyone. We hope that policymakers and operators take notice of the demands mentioned in the survey and work towards creating a more inclusive society.