Braille signs in public? I was in city hall today pulling a permit and noticed the Building Department sign next to the window. Below the text was a 1/2″ tall line of braille proclaiming the same as above.
My first thought was after walking nearly 1000′ through this building and through no less than four sets of doors, what are the odds that a blind person could find the little strip of braille.
Is there a code requirement for braille sign height and placement?
Edited 2/26/2008 10:36 pm ET by MSA1
Replies
Yes, §703.4 of ANSI 117.1-2003 requires signage to have braille.
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
I understand they're required to have it, what I want to know is how the hell they're supposed to find the sign?
I mean no disrespect this is just something that crossed my mind when I saw the sign.
I don't know, but I once had a braille type -writer. The keys had the letter (visable) and the dots. the hammers made the dots on a platen, but youhad to type hard, there was bad leverage..and I think it took special paper only.
Prtty cool..I wonder what I did with it.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
Got burnt in the fire............[email protected]
Nah..I think the exwif donated it to the Goodwill. THAT long ago.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
One could rationalize all day long about the location of braille at places like drive up ATM's and such.I, for one, am glad they have braille signage everywhere. Can you imagine how thick the code books would be if they qualified everything? To use your example, a blind person would have to walk 1000' and through four doors. So maybe that's overkill. What about 750' and three doors? Or 500' and two doors, etc.I think it's just easier to say "braille is required on signs".
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Jon I think you're missing the point. Its not how far I had to walk to find this sign its that there must have been 30 things on this wall including boards for hanging up flyers and nearest to the sign, a rack of building applications.
I'm just wondering if there is some standard as to proximity to openings or common heights to make these signs easier to find.
48" AFF min. to the bottom of the lowest character, 60" AFF max. to the bottom of the highest character.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Kinda reminds me of the smile I get every time I go into a post office and see the sign "No dogs allowed -- except seeing eye dogs." The blind guy isn't gonna see that sign in the first place, so he won't need the disclaimer.
Maybe they're worried about the dogs reading it. (They're some remarkably smart dogs after all!)
And the comments about the audible signs make me think about the talking crosswalks they have at the intersections all around my office. They announce that it's "now safe to cross mrglfpdt" -- can't understand what they're saying even if you can see the lights!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Edited 2/27/2008 8:16 am ET by MikeHennessy
Thought I'd throw this in here for a laugh...
View Image
The signs in the PO are probably so that sighted people when they see a person with a leader dog don't say, "Gee, he gets to have his dog in here, why can't I? I'm gonna sue for discrimination!"
Yeah, I know. I just get a kick outa imagining the dog pausing, reading the sign, wagging his tail and heading in.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
There are a ton of people who are legally blind but can still see shapes. They wouldn't be able to read the sign, but they might be able to see the doorway enough to guess where the sign would be.
You beat me to it. I can't stay up that late during the work week anymore (get up at 4:00am).
I worked with a guy that became "legally blind" due to retinaites pigmentoises, a degenerative disease of the eye. He eventually was forced into disability retirement because of it. He can still see to get around. Walks or uses public transportation, and has learned to read braille. Those signs help him function in a world that doesn't recognize his condition because he doesn't need a cane or dog to get around.
He once told me that he wished they would put bus schedule signs up with braille on them. He has braille schedules mailed to him by the local transit authority, but is still frustrated by the need to ask people around him about transfers. His world has shrunk significantly, and without those signs, would be even smaller.
Touche, it just seemed odd to me.
Now you've got me wondering... what about emergency exit signs and those emergency escape route signs? If they're alone, how are blind people supposed to get out of a building in an emergency?
New emergency exit signs are audible. Head for the noise....=====Zippy=====
New emergency exit signs are audible. Head for the noise....
Cool! I haven't seen one of these, but they would be useful even for sighted people in a smoke-filled area.
New emergency exit signs are audible. Head for the noise....
Cool! I haven't seen one of these....
Well of course not.....you HEAR them.
{G, D & R }
Beware the bikini clad female.
She may be interpreted as offensive.
Don't really know anything about it (thank goodness) but what crossed my mind is there are people around who are legally blind but still have some sight. So maybe they have a seeing eye dog and a cane to help them get around but couldn't see a sign good enough to read it even if it had 3" tall letters and was being "viewed" from 3' away.
We take for granted what is so precious but lost to others...