Week Ending June 25

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending June 25, 2004

House Concurrent Resolution 56 drivers should be cautious when driving near a visually impaired individual.

BRIEF

In its’ resolution Congress finds that many people in the United States who are blind or otherwise visually impaired have the ability to travel throughout their communities without assistance but encounter hazards that a pedestrian with average vision could easily avoid, many of which involve crossing streets and roadways.

The white cane and guide dog should be generally recognized as aids to mobility for visually impaired individuals nevertheless visually impaired individuals have had their white canes and guide dogs run over by motor vehicles, have been struck by the side-view mirrors of motor vehicles, and have suffered serious personal injury and death as the result of being hit by motor vehicles.

Many States do not require candidates for driver's licenses to associate the use of the white cane or guide dog with potentially visually impaired individuals therefore Congress resolves it is the sense of Congress that each State should require any candidate for a driver's license in such State to demonstrate, as a condition of obtaining a driver's license, an ability to associate the use of the white cane and guide dog with visually impaired individuals and to exercise greatly increased caution when driving in proximity to a potentially visually impaired individual.

Sponsor: Representative Lane Evans (D-IL)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote.