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An emergency forum to call for better safety measures on train platforms for visually handicapped people was held over the weekend in Tokyo.
The forum was held Sunday by an organization for visually impaired people, alarmed by a series of recent incidents where visually impaired people fell off the platforms at train and subway stations, particularly a much-publicized accident in August, when a man with a guide dog died after falling off the platform at Aoyama-Itchome subway station in Tokyo.
The forum, which was attended by approximately 70 people, began with a silent prayer for those who died in accidents at stations, Fuji TV reported. Participants called on railway and subway operators to speed up plans to install platform doors as well as more yellow blocks on platforms.
Additionally, they proposed a system that will sound an alert to visually impaired people if they get too near the edge of the platform as well as a system where an IC card touch at the gate notifies the metro staff of the presence of a visually handicapped person to make it easier for them to receive support.
Maki Imano, the chairperson of the organization, said: “I myself have felt scared on platforms a number of times. I hope this forum helps make platforms safer for visually impaired people.”
© Japan Today
9 Comments
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Yubaru
Waiting for the blue-ribbon panel to be put in place to discuss this issue! There should be NO need for a forum or panel or any other group getting together to deal with this life-threatening issue.
The rail companies are morally, and ethically responsible for insuring the safety of ALL their passengers, failure to take preventative measures to ensure their safety is criminally negligent in my opinion!
Goodlucktoyou
And what about drunk salarymen/women? Clearly barriers are needed. The cost of train delays could easily fund them.
Speed
For the blind a little helping hand from other passengers would be a giant help.
Spanki
The funniest blind path I saw was at Setagaya station on the Setagaya line some years ago. The yellow dotted path went in a straight line to the first roof canopy support, then went round it, then in a straight line to the next one and round it, then so on all the way down the platform. It just looked like a cruel joke.
Disillusioned
It reminds me of an old joke! How many Japanese law makers does it take to have a meeting about platform safety for the visually impaired? 70, of course! 2 to actually come up with ideas and 68 to sit around and say, "Hai!"
BertieWooster
Why is there a need to hold a forum for this?
Just put up safety barriers.
There's nothing to discuss.
presto345
From other passengers, from other PEOPLE. Remembering how it was in the days my parents told me about, that's how it used to be. Setting up barriers everywhere to protect the blind (can I say that?) the physically challenged, the drunks, the smart phone fixated, the depressed, in short everyone, is a goal hard to achieve, especially if that goal and responsibility is delegated to third parties. We all think we want to live in a safer world, a perfect world for everyone, but want to provide this world by others. Who? The local authorities, the central government, highway administrators, transportation companies, you name it? Should we put safety cameras in every nook and corner with alerting sensors? Move people in transport hubs by electronically controlled devices like robots? Something needs to be done, but barriers won't cut it. It's the human factor, the indifference, the lack of responsibility not only of administrators, but also those knowing their own challenges that pose a risk.
kurisupisu
The problem is that Japan has not been modeled to take account of the blind,the infirm nor the disabled.
These groups have not been taken into account in the 'squash them in' capitalist mentality which fails to provide for actually, the test of us too......
iniyazhini
very nice initiative to