New button to aid blind and deaf pedestrians in Cape Town
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 10:50
The City of Cape Town will soon be equipping new traffic signals at road intersections in the city with a device to assist blind and deaf pedestrians.
City media liaison officer, Lisle Brown, says that all new traffic signals will now feature a vibrating button along with audio signals to indicate that it is safe to cross the road.
Known as the Audio Tactile Pedestrian Detector, she explains, ‘the device will aid blind and deaf pedestrians by providing both audio and tactile signals indicating that the pedestrian green man symbol is lit and that it is therefore safe for them to cross the road. The device will transmit an audible signal and will also vibrate when the pedestrian green man traffic light symbol is switched on’.
