Anybody read Braille?
By adamg - Mon, 03/31/2008 - 4:44pm.
Mark O'Neill noticed the new Braille addition to the "Priority Seating" signs on the Red Line the other day and wondered what it says:
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Mark O'Neill noticed the new Braille addition to the "Priority Seating" signs on the Red Line the other day and wondered what it says:
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I can't read Braille
but I always wondered how blind people know how to zero in on it. It's one little Braille thing on a huge wall. Or at ATMs, how do they find the ATM, and then the Braille.
My question as well
It's cool (and probably a legal requirement) that the T is reaching out to people with visual handicaps (although that doesn't explain the very skinny new fonts they're using on the Red Line), but would a blind person know to reach up and feel the wall behind him for a priority-seating placard?
Nope
The first word is "priority"- PRI and Y are clearly visible. The first letter of the second group is an S.
Braille has a slew of rules, which did not appear parse-able within the course of a few minutes...or the guide I found was not very good. Or both.
From what I can see, it says....
"Priority seating for persons with disabilities." As the previous commenter mentioned, it's difficult to impossible for a blind person to target a Braille sign. You'd have to be feeling the entire wall unless you know where the sign is supposed to be (such as elevator numbers or something). Braille signs are more helpful in contained spaces (like to the right of a door in an office building -- if it's in the same place all the time).
You'd have to be feeling the
You'd have to be feeling the entire wall unless you know where the sign is supposed to be
Maybe people who are "leaglly blind" but not completely can maneuver this a little better....
Legally Blind and Braille User
Most people who are legally blind (have some vision) don't use Braille. The numbers are dropping -- only about 10-15 % of all blind people (totally or legally blind) use Braille. Some states have Braille literacy laws which require that blind children be taught Braille in school. However, as many people develop blindness as adults, they may not choose to learn Braille or rely on technology instead.
I think what it says is:
"If someone is sitting below this sign and is not disabled, you may whack them in the head"
or
"If someone more disabled than you boards this subway car, please give them this seat"
It's just a little bit funny to me that this sign in particular needs to be in braille, since culturally the way it works is that physically able folks either avoid the seating or get the heck out of the way if someone that needs that seat gets on. I guess it makes sense to convey the fact that they're in the "safe" seats, but are blind people really worried that the priority seats are somewhere far away from the door?
Braille
Is it spelled out in Spanish in Braille too?
While I'm on the subject, why isn't there a button to press to get the Spanish TV stations in English? I'd love to know what they are saying on El Sabado Grande!
On the other hand
This could explain all the recent gropers... they're just looking for the signs.
Actually, when I was young, I could read Braille. But my fingers weren't sensitive enough, so I could only read it by sight.
For a while, I took out Braille books from the library for practice, but at some point I realized the irony of it all and gave up.