Deaf-blind people can use assistance to assess crossing situations by asking a trusted friend, family member, or instructor to give them information about the situation such as:

· how wide is the street or driveway to be crossed, is there a divider or island somewhere in the crossing, how many lanes of traffic are going each way, are there any bike lanes, etc.;

· what is the traffic like (how many vehicles, how fast are they going, etc.)? An effective way to convey this information is for the deaf-blind person to put his hand on that of the assistant who points to the vehicles as they pass, indicating how fast they are moving. Another way is to set up a signal such as having the assistant move a finger across the deaf-blind person’s back to indicate movement of the vehicles and their speed – this can be done while the deaf-blind person walks along the sidewalk and explores the area;

· visibility of the deaf-blind person to the drivers – is there anything blocking the view, or glaring lights;

· whether drivers yield consistently when pedestrians with white cane or dog guide indicate they want to cross there;

· presence of pedestrians, and their characteristics such as their dress, whether children or families pass by, whether people appear to be rushed, the presence of bus stops or loitering groups of people and what they are doing, etc.

It is important that the deaf-blind person assess the situation at different times of the day and week and year, and find out if anything predictable drastically changes the situation, such as traffic getting into or out of schools, stadiums, factories, hospitals at change of shift for personnel, etc.

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