Self-Study Guide: Preparing Visually Impaired Students to Assess and Cross Streets with No Stop Sign or Traffic Signal
There are situations where you cannot be certain it is clear to cross.
Our students need to be able to recognize those situations.
DEDICATED TO DICK AND LORRAINE EVENSEN, whose deaths alerted us to the insidious changes at streets with no traffic control.
May their memory inspire and remind us to to prepare our students to assess and cross these streets safely.
Welcome -- enjoy your adventure through these pages!
This series of pages may forever change the way you teach orientation and mobility, or it may validate concerns you've had.
It provides assessment and teaching tools to prepare your students for crossings at streets with no traffic control.
What does it mean to have a crossing with no stop sign or traffic signal?
Crossings with no stop sign or traffic signal may be at intersections that have stop signs or traffic signals, but not for the street or lane being crossed.
Examples are shown in the photos above.
Left photo: There are no stop signs or traffic signals within a block of the crossing.
Second photo: There is a stop sign for the street beside the stick figure but not for the street that the figure is facing to cross.
Third photo: At this roundabout, there is no stop sign or signal for traffic approaching the crosswalk.
Fourth (right) photo: There is a signal for the traffic behind the man standing on the island, but no signal or stop sign for the traffic in the lane he is facing to cross.
In every photo, there is no stop sign or traffic signal for the lane or street being crossed -- that is, no traffic control.
How can we know it is clear to cross streets where there is no traffic signal or stop sign?
Sixty years ago, we knew that it was always clear to cross whenever it was quiet (some people call it a "lull").
That is, it was always "safe to cross when quiet" (Sauerburger, 1999)
Today, we can no longer assume that it is clear to cross whenever it is quiet.
in some situations, you still CAN be confident that it is clear to cross whenever it is quiet; BUT
in other situations, you CAN NEVER be certain whether it is clear to cross, even when it is quiet (these situations are called "situations of uncertainty for gap judgment").
As stated in a 2008 position paper of the AER O&M Division:
Although this strategy of crossing when quiet still is reliable in some situations,
research and observations indicate there are situations where
it is not possible for a person with normal hearing and walking speed
to hear traffic with sufficient warning to be assured
that there is a gap in traffic long enough to cross
even when it is quiet
(Wall Emerson & Sauerburger, 2008, Sauerburger, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2006, Snook-Hill and Sauerburger 1996).
It is the responsibility of O&M specialists to teach students how to recognize situations where they cannot determine if it is clear to cross.
The consensus of the O&M profession is that best practice for O&M programs is to prepare students to be able to
"recognize situations where they cannot hear or see well enough to reliably predict gaps in traffic" [that is, recognize situations where they cannot predict when it is clear to cross -- see the O&M Division position paper].
But aren't there any strategies that can assure enough time for crossing these streets?
No. Although a few strategies have been developed and used over the years, none of these have been verified as reliable.
In fact, a few have been shown to be unreliable, and they could actually increase the risk of crossing.
At crossings with no stop sign or traffic signal, you can teach your O&M students the skills and concepts necessary to:
recognize situations in which they cannot be sure whether it is clear to cross;
determine risks;
consider alternatives when the risk is not acceptable;
maximize the use of their hearing / vision and know when to use which.
And THAT is what this Self-Study Guide is all about!
HOW TO FOLLOW THIS SELF-STUDY GUIDE: Below is a list of recommended links.
Start with the link to page 1 ("Situations of Uncertainty for Gap Judgment"), and follow the prompts to other recommended pages.
Please note that
The links to Self-Study Guide pages are all marked "recommended." Other links which provide additional information may take you outside of the Self-Study Guide.
A few of the pages (including this one!) start out with a link to study questions to enhance your learning.
For a tool that may help you organize your instruction, go to the checklists.
To find out more about taking the quiz and getting a Certificate of Completion, click here.
FORUM: We would love to have you at our forum discussion on this topic, whether you are a novice or have years of experience and ideas!
Click here to browse or join the forum.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns at
Dona@Sauerburger.org.
