Wired's Autopia Blog: 'Ford Proves That Blind Drivers Can Learn A Stick Shift'

Administrator's Note: This report by "Wired" magazine talks about a separate project to help the blind drive, but mentions in detail the Blind Driver Challenge...

Ford of Europe let 30 blind and visually impaired drivers get behind the wheel at their test track in Cologne, Germany in an attempt to give blind people a better understanding of automobiles and examine how they interact with cars.

Last week’s test drives put drivers in control of all vehicle inputs, responding to the directions of a sighted driving instructor. The fastest driver got their Fiesta up to 74 mph, and Ford reported that all drivers quickly mastered the fine art of a stick shift through feel and sound.

“Driving it was not a big problem for me,” said driver Katrin Berus of Kleve, Germany. “Operating clutch and gearshift was easier than I expected.”

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From 'Wired': High-Tech Car Allows the Blind to Drive

A Ford Escape poking along at 25 mph isn’t usually the most exciting event on the track at the Daytona International Speedway. Consider that the driver is blind, however, and that slow-moving Ford is an example of how technology can grant autonomy.

Mark Riccobono, a blind executive at the National Federation of the Blind, handled the curves, avoided obstacles thrown in his path from a van ahead of him and then passed that van. He did it in a vehicle built by students using off-the-shelf technology.

“That was fun because nobody expected that we’d do that,” Riccobono said. “We kept exactly what we were going to do on the track, we held that close to the vest and even our members didn’t know that was going to happen.”

Although we’re a long way from the day ... Read more

At the Daytona International Speedway, Mark Riccobono prepares to drive the Blind Driver Challenge car known as BRIAN. Photo by Steven D. A. Mackay