Turning a blind eye to braille signage
An undercover investigation by CBS News found that a number of public facilities such as bus systems, libraries, hospitals and restaurants around the U.S. have incorrect braille signage or lack accessible signage altogether.
Tuesday, 02 Jul 2019 10:07 GMT
According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 1.3bn people globally live with some form of visual impairment
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came into place in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including schools, transportation, and all spaces open to the general public.
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, CBS News discovered a string of complaints to the Justice Department’s Disability Rights section about missing or incorrect braille at facilities such as Albuquerque’s bus system, hospital and medical buildings in Chicago, and restaurants in Kansas and Pennsylvania.
According to a spokesperson for U.S. Access Board – a federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities – in some cases, older buildings are often excluded from disability guidelines.
There isn’t the attention to detail around accessibility as there is to other issues like security and privacy when really it is all the same”
This means it can be almost impossible to know how many federally funded buildings in the U.S. are complying with disability access law, meaning many facilities still feature incorrect or inadequate braille signage.
Speaking to CBS News, disability rights attorney, Lainey Feingold comments: “Sadly, compliance with federal and state laws and regulations often don’t happen. There isn’t the attention to detail around accessibility as there is to other issues like security and privacy when really it is all the same.”
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