Author: susan

Comments Submitted Concerning Automated Driving Systems

March 5, 2018
Automated driving systems (ADS) have the potential to dramatically improve the lives of people with disabilities and improve the safety of our streets. More than half a million people with disabilities never leave home and cite transportation difficulties. Children with disabilities are more than 5 times as likely to be hit by a motor vehicle as a bicyclist or pedestrian than children without disabilities. Many people with disabilities cannot drive or lack access to a personal vehicle. Only 45% of rental households with individuals who use wheeled mobility devices have access to a personal vehicle.

Comments Submitted Concerning Removing Barriers to Transit Bus Automation

March 4, 2018
The promise and safety of automated transit buses will only be realized if they are truly accessible, and the regulations, laws and policies take into consideration the needs of disabled travelers. Transit service of all types: whether fixed route, shuttles, circulator or vehicles providing first mile/last mile service must be available to people with disabilities who are ambulatory and mobility impaired, to low income riders, and those of all races, colors and national origins. The Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and Executive Order 12898 must be enforced and the civil rights of transit riders protected without exception.

Health Information Technology

February 25, 2011
While we were disappointed that accessibility standards were not included in HHS’s July 2010 final rule establishing stage 1 “meaningful use,” we are encouraged by the Department’s inclusion of disability specific questions in its latest request for comments. We strongly urge the Department to adopt explicit accessible information technology standards within stages 2 and 3 MU to both improve health outcomes for all patients with sensory, cognitive or mobility limitations, and to ensure that a technological system that has been mandated to reduce health disparities does not in itself act to replicate and deepen the disparities experienced by people with disabilities.