Driving with a Handicap?

[Gary_C]

We all know that many people on the roads today are handicapped. Some have limited physical handicaps like cell phones stuck in their ears and we all believe the other driver is mentally handicapped. But is this going too far?

Driving while blind? Maybe, with new high-tech car


I can just hear the excuse now, "the computer did it."  :

I guess we now know why they put the Braille buttons on the drive up teller at the bank.  :D :D

[red oaks lumber]

yesterday it was the flying car, today the car for the blind. i told my wife people can't drive now let alone have flying and blind drivers. before you were safe in your house but now im not so sure!!!

[Texas Ranger]

I drive handicapped, my wife is usually beside me. 8)  But,. yes, the cell phone in the ear is causing more problems than any physical inability.

[Tom]

Of course.   Anybody with a high enough handicap can make a hole in 1.  Usually off of a par 3, though.  So, drivers don't usually come into play.  A seven, eight or nine iron would be more sporting.

FOR-R-R-r-r-re!!

[easymoney]

some crazy ideas should never be tried.
of course some people should be taken off the road. i dont know about other states but in tennessee you can renew your drivers license by mail so no matter how disabled or blind you get you can continue to drive no matter how blind or disabled you become.
here in my town i have seen people that could barely get around with the aid of a walker still driving. they would be very slow to react if an emergency should happen.

[Tom]

I don't think that we should take the opportunity away from our elders to be independent and mobile as long as they are careful.  It's one reason that youth shouldn't be tearing around, tailgating, cutting cars off, flipping off other drivers and ignoring the speed limits and other road rules.  I am proud of people who want to "go" if they are able.

Still for a skill so dependent upon sight and defensive actions, driving when blind is pushing the envelope too far.  Perhaps there will be a time when automobiles will hook up to a system beneath the pavement that will control it and the others, allowing you to dial in a destination.  Until that happens, I think the sightless will have to depend on the sighted.

[pineywoods]

I completely agree with Tom. I suspect that a little digging will turn up somebody looking for some grant money. From spending a bunch of time hanging around a major rehab hospital, I have seen folks with just about any physical handicap you can imagine learn to drive. But driving blind or even with impaired vision is stretching things a bit too far.

[IMERC]

yesterday it was the flying car, today the car for the blind. i told my wife people can't drive now let alone have flying and blind drivers. before you were safe in your house but now im not so sure!!!

then what do we do if planes are built to accommodate the blind to fly them...

landing could get dicey...

[Gary_C]

then what do we do if planes are built to accommodate the blind to fly them...

landing could get dicey...

It's my understanding that most commercial jetliners could be programmed on the ground to fly to a destination and I believe that includes takeoffs and landings. but as I understand it, the pilots do not use that feature.

[IMERC]

It's my understanding that most commercial jetliners could be programmed on the ground to fly to a destination and I believe that includes takeoffs and landings. but as I understand it, the pilots do not use that feature.

wouldn't take much of glitch to ruin yur week...

[PineNut]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Advanced Air flight 234. This is a totally automated aircraft with no pilots aboard. This aircraft is built with the latest advanced technology and has multiple redundant systems to make it the safest aircraft in the air. So enjoy your flight and we will make sure that nothing can go wrong – go wrong – go wrong – go wrong.....

[Gary_C]

So enjoy your flight and we will make sure that nothing can go wrong – go wrong – go wrong – go wrong.....

Pinenut I would guess that you are mocking automation and technology.  :D :D :D

And with good reason. When a well trained pilot is at the controls, it is more of instincts and training that will guide the pilots reaction to something unexpected. But that can only be done when the pilot is in the loop and in control. The time it could take for a pilot to regain control could be fatal in some cases.

So that is why I think takeoffs and landings are done by the pilots, even though the capability is there for automated flight.

At least that is what one could hope. 

And then there's a couple of Northwest pilots that could have used some automation when they flew by the airport while working on their laptops.  :