Robert - I'm so sorry to hear about this incident and am glad that you survived it without serious injury. Over the years as a mobility instructor, I've seen drivers do so many crazy things and have seen the White Cane Law broken on a regular basis. When I'm teaching my clients street crossing skills, I explain the White Cane Law and what drivers are SUPPOSED to do but I tell them, unfortunately, to not count on anyone doing it! I love the idea about getting into the high schools to educate students who are just learning to drive, as well as the idea of giving out cards with the law and the candy cane attached. Both would make a positive impression and be so memorable. Evelyn Worley, COMS, CVRT Assistant Director Lighthouse of the Big Bend (850) 942-3658 x203 Fax (850) 942-4518 Lighthouse of the Big Bend “Guiding People Through Vision Loss” 3071 Highland Oaks Terrace, Tallahassee, FL 32301 ----- Original Message ----- From: Easy Talk To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 8:02 AM Subject: [tabi] Re: Fw: [fcb-l] Fw: Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection Hi Chip, Thanks for your input and I will try that as a last alternative. I want to talk to the chief first. Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: Chip Orange To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2013 3:53 PM Subject: [tabi] Re: Fw: [fcb-l] Fw: Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection Hi Robert, Why don’t you consider trying to see if the local NFB and/or FCB will work with you on a meeting with the person who hires the “chief of police” position, to discuss the atitude of the local police? The education and atitude of the local force falls squarely on the chief, and the person who hires for that position should be the one made aware of the chief’s “lack of leadership” on this. I believe the person who hires for this position is probably the city manager. I certainly hope this incident wil be something which will bring both consumer groups together, but if you have to, I’d ask for a meeting on your own. Good luck, and we’re all glad for the miracle that kept you two from serious harm. Chip From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Easy Talk Sent: Monday, August 05, 2013 11:29 AM To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [tabi] Fw: [fcb-l] Fw: Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection ----- Original Message ----- From: Easy Talk To: Kirk Harmon ; Mike Ulrich Cc: fcb-l@xxxxxxx Sent: Monday, August 05, 2013 6:49 AM Subject: Re: [fcb-l] Fw: [tabi] Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection Just getting law enforcement to be aware of the White Cane law would be a major step and more important is getting them to have the right attitude. In both cases where I was hit I had to demand that the driver be charged with violating the White cane law. As soon as you ask the officer if they are aware of the law, they get defensive and cop the attitude that you are trying to tell them how to do there job. The first time I was hit, the officer did charge the driver but when I got home, I got a call from the officer and he told me he was going to resend the ticket since the driver of the car behind the one that hit me saw me push the wrong button. In my most recent situation, the officer told me she wasn't going to site the driver since he was driving a semi and they take more room to make a turn and he was already making his turn when I started to cross the street which was a lie. The street I was crossing was 3 lanes and I was almost across the second lane and approaching the third lane when he made a rolling right turn on green.at which point when Sherman stopped, I was about 18 inches from the truck, As I was cursing the driver, a blinker sticking out about mid ways of the trailer hit me on the back of my right arm and knocked me down since I had Sherman's leash in my right hand. At some point I transferred Sherman's leash to my left hand and as I was falling, Sherman pulled me back and to the left which is what kept me from going under the truck. The first thing the driver said when he got out of his truck was, I didn't see you man, I'm sorry. By the time the officer arrived on the scene The driver figured out, it wouldn't be a good thing to tell the cop he didn't see me so he told her he saw me waiting to cross the street but he was already making his turn and basically I walked in to the side of his truck. When I tried to explain all this to the officer, she was having no part of it and kept saying what the other witnesses said of which there were 3 other than the driver and the 3 witnesses certainly didn't say to me what the officer was saying so I ask her what witnesses she was referring to and she said she was talking about the driver of the truck. I ask her what about what I was telling her, that I was a witness and I was there and I was still alive. I certainly got the impression she thought since I couldn't see I wasn't a credible witness. This pissed me off and so I told her, lets look at the evidence and explained to her based on where I was hit by the blinker and where I was in the road there is no way the accident could have happened the way the driver said it did. After standing out in the sun for 45 minutes while the cop was in her car talking to her sergeant and dispatch, she came back and I ask her if she had read the white cane law she said yes. I then ask her if she was going to site the driver and she said no. She said I was free to go. I told her she hadn't heard the last of this and when I got home, I called the police department and spoke to SGT Simms and explained basically what I have posted here and he backed the officer's decision and even inferred for some time she didn't even know I was blind and the driver didn't either. I informed SGT Simms they would be hearing from my attorney. I called back a few minutes later to request a copy of the police report and by that time things had changed and I was informed that the driver had been sited for violating the White Cane law but they weren't going to site him for violation of the pedestrian safety law. Until we get the legislation passed we have been trying for the last 3 years each incident will be your own battle but isn't going to do anything to change things state wide. If you want to read how screwed up what some sighted people thing about blind people and the White Cane law, go to wctv.tv and open the link to the article and then hit space bar on the like button. the comments start after the third header on the page. Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: Kirk Harmon To: Mike Ulrich Cc: Easy Talk ; <fcb-l@xxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, August 04, 2013 8:05 PM Subject: Re: [fcb-l] Fw: [tabi] Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection Good for you Mike! As far as you your quest for solid white miniature candy canes attach to the law we did that in Orlando many many years ago when we went back to do it for the last time the manufacture of the candy canes that gave us white candy canes a quick Mcmanimon know we could get was the red and white or gray and whiiings. Good luck to you as I worked hard on finding another manufacturer that would provide us with a solid white miniatur to no avail. As far as getting the public To become familiar with the Whit can e law, it will be in matter of consistency by our law enforcement community to site people when they make the infraction of this law and to continue doing so here and you're out it is also a wise idea, I believe, to educate the new young drivers through high schools etc.. Consistency in longevity yin my opinion through these law enforcement efforts will be the only way people will actually realize this law is there to be followed I believe also we will save many many lives in the long run. Kudo to your efforts, Kirk Sent from my iPhone On Aug 4, 2013, at 7:35 PM, "Mike Ulrich" <mulrich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Holy cow Robert! Glad to have you back among the living breathing and still walking! Speaking of Too close for comfort close calls, I will be working with our City of Cape Coral Police Department’s Public Affairs Officer; Lieutenant Tony Sizemore with a new program. This will be a program in which the traffic officers will be handing out warnings to motorists breaking the right turn on red law, and blocking of Pedestrian cross walks, that is, stopping past the stop bar. At least this is where it stands as of now. I intend on bumping it up to include educating the driving public on the White Cane Law of Florida. But it is now at the first step of the poker game! Know what I mean? What I’d really like to do, is to get the officers to hand out a card with the Florida White Cane Law printed on it along with a kind of candy cane type candy, but shaped like a white cane! I’m having a hard time locating a candy making company that could make these White Cane candies in bulk, at either a pro-bono price or at as little price as possible. The Police Department will be blasting out this program to all of its Social Networks and through the local media outlets as a program of the Cape Coral Police Department in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Council of the Blind. They will be doing this program as a two pronged approach. Starting right now, and during the week of October 15 National White Cane Safety Week! I am looking very much forward to working with the CCPD with this whole program, but it all depends on the driving public actually remembering not only the White Cane Law, but to look out for all pedestrians in general, and that’s always the big crap shoot! Ain’t it? Good luck to all, and let’s be careful out there!........Mike Michael D. Ulrich President Southwest Florida Council of the Blind “Providing Insight for Blindness” Home phone: 239-540-7431 Cell phone: 239-565-5845 Email: mulrich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From: fcb-l-bounces@xxxxxxx [mailto:fcb-l-bounces@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Easy Talk Sent: Sunday, August 04, 2013 8:07 AM To: fcb-l@xxxxxxx Subject: [fcb-l] Fw: [tabi] Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection ----- Original Message ----- From: Easy Talk To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, August 04, 2013 7:58 AM Subject: [tabi] Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection Blind Tallahassee Man Has A Brush With Death At An Intersection 8-3-13 11pm By: Bailey Myers August 3rd, 2013 Tallahassee FL - A blind Tallahassee man had a brush with death Saturday at the intersection of Killearn Center Boulevard and Village Square. Robert Miller explained, "If it wasn't for him...um...you would be doing a different story." It's a story about his seeing eye dog, Sherman, who saved his life. Robert Miller has been blind since he was born, and has depended on his seeing eye dogs since he was seventeen, but on Saturday that bond between man and dog was tested. "He lunged to the left and back, pulling me away from the truck," Miller said. Miller also said Sherman stopped him in the middle of the cross walk before a semi-truck rounding the corner was able to fully hit him. Instead it only hit his right arm, knocking him over in the middle of the intersection. "And I've been hit twice at that intersection, and it could very well have cost me my life," said Miller. Both Miller and his wife Sila, who is also legally blind, take that walk every day. Hoping that people obey the traffic laws. Particularly one law, Florida's White Cane Law, which states: "Whenever a pedestrian is crossing... guided by a dog guide or carrying in a raised or extended position a cane... the driver of every vehicle approaching the intersection...shall bring his or her vehicle to a full stop. " The difficulty is, it doesn't seem like many people know about the law. When asked, 'Have you ever hear of the white cane law' one passer by said, "No I've never hear of that." Eyewitness News Reporter Bailey Myers asked more than a dozen passersby, and they all had the same answer, 'No, I don't know it.' According to Miller even the police officer who arrived after he was hit didn't know about it either. Robert's wife Sila Miller said, "It's very frustrating when your independence is compromised like that by someone just being in a hurry or not paying attention." Both of the Millers have been hit by a car at that intersection. Now, they just hope Florida's Legislature addresses the issue and work to get the word out about the White Cane Law. _______________________________________________ fcb-l mailing list fcb-l@xxxxxxx http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/fcb-l