Trump has declared war against blind people.
President Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, has declared war against blind people, by instructing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), to cancel the noise rules required by automotive manufacturers of electric cars.
The American Council of the Blind, (ACB), and the National Federation of the Blind, (NFB), lobbied for the adoption of noise rules for electric and hybrid vehicles, because of the lack of audible cues to blind pedestrians.
The automotive industry and the Federal Government fought both blindness advocacy organizations on the specific structural promulgation of the rules, and the meaning of various definitions contained in the rules.
The rules were finally adopted in 2016, with implementation scheduled to commence in February.
However, by the February 2017 deadline, the Trump stalled the implementation of the regulations until September 2017.
Under the direction of Trump, the NHTSA is considering the cancelation of the rules, contrary to the direction of Congress and the hardworking lobbying efforts of blindness organizations.
The article reporting this latest development in the maniacal Trump presidency can be found here: http://ktvl.com/news/auto-matters/electric-car-noise-rules-to-be-canceled-under-trump-deregulation-plan
Critics of the noise rules have asserted the argument of insufficient statistical data as their point of contention for the necessity of the noise rules.
However, Waymo, the self-driving car subsidiary of Google, Inc. has provided the statistical data and analyses to substantiate the need for self-driving cars, and those statistics are relevant to the case here: https://www.waymo.com/tech/
As Waymo correctly pointed out, there were more than 1.25 million fatalities due to vehicle crashes in 2014, including 32,675 deaths in the U.S.
94% of the fatalities in the U.S. were caused by human error and inattention.
In 2016, there was a 6% increase in the number of fatalities.
When analyzing the statistics cited by Waymo, along with Trump’s diabolical deregulation scheme, the consequences will be disastrous to blind pedestrians.
Without sufficient noise to alert blind pedestrians of the presence of electric and hybrid vehicles, blind pedestrians will be unaware of the presence of such vehicles, which will cause injury or death upon impact.
Despite traveling according to best orientation and mobility practices, drivers still do not yield to blind pedestrians, run red lights, attempt to turn around or in front of blind pedestrians while they cross the street, and whip in and out of driveways without checking for the presence and movement of blind pedestrians.
In addition to these hazards caused by recklessness and inattention, automotive manufacturers have added insult to injury by equipping vehicles with touch screen displays.
Although states have enacted texting while driving prohibitory laws, they are rarely enforced, and the penalties of breaking the law are insufficient to deter the behavior of drivers.
Additionally, self-driving cars must become the law of the land, so that people are not dying because of reckless, inconsiderate, and self-centered drivers.
