Hm. This is a good question...

[conuly]

About chirping intersections - do they only chirp sometimes? AND WHY DO WE NOT HAVE THEM IN NEW YORK? And on and on.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

There are no standards. This is very troubling and incredibly stupid. It'd be easy to implement standards, which would allow blind people to travel safely in far more locations. But as it is, you have to listen for traffic patterns to really be safe. But learning the rules for your local area is very helpful, but can mess you up if you don't know it's only local or how far it spreads.

I've also been told by some blind people that some places do not properly synchronize the chirping with when it is safe to cross... I can't think of anything to add to this that could possibly say more than just that basic fact.

But I'm a big fan of well-designed chirpy lights. :) I like the ones that vibrate and chirp upon request, as they work with blindness, deafness, and deaf-blindness - the latter being really difficult to find a good solution for. Plus, it's just so very useful to be able to rest my hand on the button and know that I cross when it vibrates. I sometimes get confused with multiple sounds or where sounds are coming from, but I know the vibration means that intersection is now safe to cross.

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

No standards? That is troubling.

Thanks for the further explanation.