{"id":13737,"date":"2013-09-02T23:28:29","date_gmt":"2013-09-02T22:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=13737"},"modified":"2023-04-12T08:56:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T07:56:02","slug":"blind-drivers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=13737","title":{"rendered":"Blind Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I know this is terribly politically incorrect of me, but I just saw this story on the newsfeeds<\/a>, and the one question that keeps dancing in front of me is: WHY?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A special off-road driving day was set up to allow \u201cyoung drivers with sight problems\u201d to have a go at driving a car. The story makes it clear that those involved are unable to apply for licences \u2013 or have had licences revoked when they started to experience issues with their sight. One driver is quoted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I am on cloud nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now my dream to be a driver one day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How? It can\u2019t possibly ever be possible in a manually operated vehicle (and by \u201cmanual\u201d I mean one that is actually controlled by the driver). If you can\u2019t see, then there\u2019s no way to circumvent that problem in any vehicle which depends on the driver being able to observe what is around them. Fair enough, if you put on your H G Wells hat and start imagining what might<\/strong> be possible then there is some hope. But realistically the best that can be expected is that self-driving cars become common \u2013 but that would be no different to riding in a taxi or bus, and would not constitute real \u201cdriving\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with running these sessions, of course. But someone somewhere needs to be a little more honest and realistic about the expectations they are creating in the minds of young people with eyesight problems. Being young and visually-impaired doesn\u2019t mean you are any less susceptible to the issues that afflict other young people. In that case, let\u2019s hope that these falsely-inspired youngsters don\u2019t get it into their heads that they can joyride like some of their peers are wont to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n