In Best on Monday, walkers could take a walk with blind and partially sighted people. They were given darkened glasses to experience for themselves how to get through the city as a visually impaired person.
Sunday was Dag van de Witte Stok (day of the white stick). The Oogvereniging (eye association) organises actions in various cities to draw attention to greater understanding of how people who are visually impaired or move blind on the street. In Best, a group of visually impaired people took a number of people out into the street with darkened glasses so that they could experience what it is like for themselves. One of the people who participated was Marc te Riele. “I notice that I am really getting tired”, he concluded during the walk. “And we’ve only been walking for half an hour”.
Traffic
Manouvering traffic is especially difficult for people with a visual impairment, Beppie Pluijm says. She feels less and less safe in traffic. Officially, people with a white stick have priority when crossing, but that is something few people know. “They should learn it at the CBR (Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen), (driving licence central office), for example. Not enough attention is paid to it”, she believes. “I really feel unsafe in traffic”. According to her, this has only gotten worse recently.
Infrastructure
The infrastructure for visually impaired people could be a lot better. “If you’re blind, you can’t just go out”, he thinks. “I don’t know where I am now. You really have to plan it”. Unfortunately, tools such as Google Maps are not always the solution. “That is only accurate to ten metres. How do you know where an entrance is?”, Te Riele asks.
According to Pluijm, adults and children can become more aware about visually impaired or blind people. “Sometimes my dog is being petted, when I ask politely if they don’t want to do that, they are surprised because she is still standing still, but she is still working”, she says. Both children and adults should learn more about the blind and visually impaired.
In any case, Te Riele has a lot more understanding for the community after his walk. “There is still a world to be won”, he concludes.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
