Wheelchair users require the same basic skills to cross streets safely as the average visually impaired traveler. What is significantly different is the time it may take the wheelchair user to complete the crossing, where she sits when waiting to cross, and the alignment positions she takes. The consumer adjusts the strategy she uses to cross the street depending on the presence or absence of curb ramps, sidewalks, street shoulders, right turn lanes, and other unpredictable features of intersection design.

Low vision wheelchair users may use visual landmarks or the crosswalk lines to assist them with straight crossings. Even when students rely on visual landmarks, they must also learn non-visual techniques for crossings. The student may not be able to use the visual landmarks due to unfamiliarity, increased traffic, or changes in lighting (too dim or too bright).

The amount of time it takes a wheelchair user to cross a street determines if the street can be crossed safely. For various reasons, visually impaired scooter or electric chair users often operate their speed controls at slow settings. They may have to turn up the chair speed to cross streets safely. If the student turns the chair speed faster than for what her cane provides feedback, she needs to slow down the chair before it hits the curb on the opposite side. The student may feel the chair switch from driving uphill to downhill as she crosses the center of the road. This transition is a good cue to slow down.

The camber or slope of the road can have a negative effect on the amount of time it takes the student to complete the crossing. The amount of power the chair has affects speed control. On slower settings, there may not be sufficient power to pull the chair up a moderately steep hill. If the slope is too steep, the student may have to start the crossing at an angle.

Watch video SCS10a: Street Crossing Skills: Crossing a street at an angle.

The student may want to angle away from the parallel street, and then straighten out. Some students have to zigzag up-and-across to climb the slope. If in a manual chair, the student may need to lean forward in the chair to keep the front wheels from popping up. The chair's wheelie bars should be kept down in case the chair does start to lean backward. Once the student crests the crown of the street and starts to go downhill, she will need to lean back. Leaning forward when hitting the curb on the far side of the intersection could cause the student to be thrown from the chair.

Watch video SCS10b: Street Crossing Skills: Lean forward to initiate crossing.

To cross an uncontrolled intersection, it is very important for the student to have a method to determine if she has time to complete the crossing or not. Timing Method for Assessing Detections of Vehicles (TMAD) and Timing Method for Assessing Speed and Distance of Vehicles (TMASD), both by Dona Sauerburger, are tools that all travelers with visual impairments should learn. In-depth descriptions of these techniques are available at the Dona Sauerburger Web site: www.sauerburger.org

The student should take the time to analyze unfamiliar light-controlled intersections. Pedestrian locator buttons should be used whenever possible. Unfortunately, pedestrian locator buttons are often placed where they are inaccessible, or in such a way that by the time the consumer has pressed the button and positioned the chair to cross, she has missed the walk cycle triggered by the button. Some students have driven their chairs through the grass to get to the button. Others that could walk short distances have aligned the chair to complete the crossing, then gotten up and walked to press the pushbutton, and quickly returned to their chair for the crossing.

Watch video SCS10c: Street Crossing Skills: Accessing pedestrian locator buttons.

Students should be taught systematic search patterns to locate the pedestrian locator buttons. While searching for the button, the student needs to maintain proper cane techniques and clear the path in front of her, not just sweeping through the grass on her side. Students often try to find the pole and forget to sweep in front. (See Shorelining techniques.)

Watch video SCS10d: Street Crossing Skills: Locating pedestrian locator buttons.

To increase the distance into the shoreline that the student can search for the locator button, search the shoreline on the same side with which the consumer holds the cane. The student may need to search both the inside and the outside shoreline; this creates a need to turn around in the middle of the sidewalk. Challenges may arise when a student is required to turn around on a sidewalk. Scooters require a three-point turn. The student should turn so that she faces the street during the turn; she should never position her back to the street. (See Sidewalk Travel.) The student may also want to locate the curb ramp and figure out how the curb ramp is oriented before she searches for the pedestrian locator button. Once she finds the ramp and the pedestrian locator button, she may need to travel back-and-forth once or twice. This will reduce the amount of time it takes her to hit the button and get to the bottom of the ramp for the crossing. When rushing from the button to the ramp, the student may fail to hit the center of the ramp and end up in an unsafe position. In the past, students have missed the center of the ramp and driven off the side of the curb ramp.

If the student cannot tell if the walk light is on or not, she should time the intersection to determine if she can cross without the walk light or not. At some intersections, without the pedestrian locater button being pressed, the time allotted for the parallel traffic varies depending on the number of cars at the intersection. If there is not consistent parallel traffic, the student may choose to solicit assistance with the crossing. She may choose to have assistance all the way across the intersection, to have assistance with the pedestrian locator button only, or to just have the assistant tell her when the walk light activates.

Soliciting assistance for street crossings is no different than for people who do not use wheelchairs. In areas with a lot of pedestrian traffic, teach the student to vocalize her need for help to passing pedestrians.

If there are only a few pedestrians, or the pedestrians aren't stopping, the student can raise her hand and wave. Turning the head back-and-forth also helps get people's attention; this action makes the student "look" like she is looking for help. Always state quickly what type of help is needed. Pedestrians and drivers tend to ignore panhandlers sitting at street corners. Saying "Excuse me" or "Can you help me?" may not get a pedestrian's attention. Pedestrians may just put their heads down and look the other way. The student should learn to say the words "cross street" before the pedestrian reaches her. She may say the full sentence: "Excuse me, could you help me cross the street?" The part about crossing the street needs to be vocalized before the pedestrian reaches the wheelchair user. Many students wait until the pedestrian is even with them before they start the sentence. Consequently, the pedestrian is well past them before the important part is said.

Watch video SCS10e: Street Crossing Skills: Soliciting assistance for street crossings.

Some consumers use communication cards and communication signs to get assistance at street crossings. Independence Without Sight or Sound by Dona Sauerburger (1993) has extensive suggestions on the creation and use of communication cards. Sauerburger and Gene Bourquin conducted research on communication card effectiveness. Communication cards are smaller than communication signs, and are often on 3"x5" or 4"x6" cards. Communication signs are typically on 8.5"x11" card stock or 11"x11" braille paper. Computer generated cards are often easier to read than hand printed cards. The text on the card should highlight the person's need. CROSS STREET should be written in a font size larger than the rest of the text. The consumer can write, "Please help me" or "Thank you," but non-essential phrases should be in a smaller font so that the eyes of the potential helper are drawn to "CROSS STREET" first. For consumers with deafblindness, the card should also tell the helper how to communicate with the consumer. The text should be printed on both sides of the sign or card so that the potential helper can see it from either side. Lamination will help preserve the cards. Bourquin recommends that the wheelchair user attach the cards to a lanyard that is clipped to or worn by the consumer; this allows the card(s) to be dropped when assistance arrives. For safety, a breakaway lanyard is recommended.The consumer should hold the card so that it is easy for people to see. The card should be held high enough that the consumer's body does not block the card. More people will see a communication card that is held above the consumer's head than a card that is held in front of the chest. It should be held so that people both on the sidewalk and passing by in cars can see it. People have been observed to park their cars, get out, and assist consumers. If the consumer chooses to move the sign, the movement seems to get people's attention. It must be moved slowly enough that it can still be read. A fast moving card is hard to read. The consumer's attitude and apparel may affect the efficiency at which assistance is received.

Watch video SCS10f: Street Crossing Skills: Soliciting assistance for street crossings with a communication card.

Navigating Curb Ramps

Students need to learn to detect curb ramps from a variety of directions and angles. Some students have no trouble with curb ramps that they approach straight on, but struggle with curb ramps approached from the side. Some students struggle with curb ramps that face diagonally across intersections. Other students, unable to detect curb ramps, must memorize landmarks and travel in a rote route fashion. Curb ramps without top landings may be problematic.

For cane users, once the curb ramp is detected, there are cane techniques that help determine the lines of descent. Sometimes, the student will start by using one technique and then switch to another to confirm her alignment with the ramp.

Exaggerated Arc Method

When the student detects the presence of a ramp or the end of the sidewalk, she sweeps the cane in an exaggerated arc from the side of the chair, across the front of the body to the opposite side of the chair, stopping at the inside and outside shorelines of the sidewalk when reached. The student may have to switch hands with the cane to locate both sides. If both sides of the curb ramp are detected, the student should trace the edges up to the chair. The student may have to turn away from the street to get to the top of the ramp or to a point where the edge of the ramp is not too high to navigate. Once at the top of the ramp, or as close to the top as possible, the student sweeps back-and-forth to relocate the two sides of the ramp. The student drives across the top of the ramp, traveling parallel to the line of the curb. If the student can touch both sides of the ramp, she sweeps the cane to the center between the two sides. With the cane tip placed in the center of the ramp, the student turns to face the cane tip. (Scooter users may need to turn, back up, and turn again to use this method.) Once turned, the student sweeps side-to-side to check again that she is centered. If not, she should re-center the cane tip and turn to face it again. Facing the cane, the student pulls up to the cane tip, and then reaches forward, sweeping and centering the tip again. The student repeats the pattern of checking both sides, centering the cane tip, and pulling up to it until she reaches the bottom of the ramp. What happens after reaching the bottom depends on if the ramp is parallel, diagonal, or perpendicular to the line of travel needed for the crossing.

Watch video SCS10g: Street Crossing Skills: Exaggerated arc method for curb ramp detection.

If the student cannot reach the far side of the ramp, she should focus on the near side. With the landmark established in Navigating Tight Spaces for turns, she should use the near side of the opening and cross the top of the ramp until the near side of the ramp is even with the landmark. (Often the landmark is the student's shoulder or the seat of the chair, but it differs from chair to chair and what type of turn the student makes. This is one case where turning to pivot on one wheel may be preferred to turning by pivoting in place. Pivoting in place may cause the back of electric wheelchairs to drop off the inside shoreline of the sidewalk.) After aligning with the edge of the ramp, the student turns to face the line of descent of the curb. The cane should sweep side-to-side and hit the side of the curb ramp with each swipe. The student shorelines the edge of the ramp to the bottom. What happens after reaching the bottom depends on if the ramp is parallel, diagonal, or perpendicular to the line of travel needed for the crossing.

Clock-Face Method

In the clock-face method of negotiating curb ramps, the student reaches out with the cane and then draws it back to the chair. The student reaches straight in front, at the side, or where she first feels a dip in the sidewalk. The dip may indicate that she is at a curb ramp. The student should reach out several times, at different angles, and pull the tip back to the chair each time. It is important to pull the cane tip all the way back to the wheels because the chair may have turned in such a way that the drop-off is already near the wheels. Only pulling the cane tip back partway has caused students to miss the curb, leading them to drive over drop-offs that they missed.

A systematic pattern helps to determine the boundaries of the curb ramp. It is helpful to describe the technique to the student by saying, "Reach the cane tip to 12 o'clock and pull it back to the chair. Now reach to 1 o'clock and pull the tip back to the chair." Repeat until the student has covered an arc from 9 o'clock through 3 o'clock. If the curb ramp is approached from the side, the cane will detect the side of the ramp and indicate where the top of the ramp is so that the student can navigate to the top of the ramp. Once at the top of the ramp, the student locates the near side of the ramp with the cane tip and uses it to align with the landmark established in chapter 8, Tight Spaces and Doors for turns using the near side of the opening to navigate a turn. After the turn is complete, the student shorelines the edge of the curb ramp to the bottom. As the student approaches the bottom, she again reaches out with the cane several times at different angles and tries to detect the curbs at either side of the curb ramp. After the student turns to place the chair parallel to the desired line of travel for the crossing, she should reach out to 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock to check again to ensure that the turn did not position the chair to drive off the side of the ramp. If a drop-off is detected, the student may have to back up, turn slightly away from the detected drop-off, and pull back to the bottom of the ramp. She should repeat the check and adjustment until both front wheels drive off flat portions of the ramp. These checks may also indicate to the student that the street has a steep slope to navigate.

Watch video SCS10h: Street Crossing Skills: Clock-face method to detect curb ramps.

In most cases, once the student lines up with the top of the descent line of the curb ramp, she will be able to drive straight down the curb ramp and into the street. When both the curb ramp and the camber of the street have steep slopes, the transition forms a "V" shape. The chair may get stuck when the drive wheels hit the bottom of the V shape. The chair ends up with the caster wheels and the anti-tippers holding all the weight of the chair while the drive wheels spin in the air over the bottom of the V shape.

Watch video SCS10i: Street Crossing Skills: Student stuck at bottom of curb ramp.

This problem is most common in electric wheelchairs, but can also be a problem with scooters and manual chairs with wheelie bars. The student may need to make the transition at an angle so that both wheelie bars don't hit the ground at the same time. If necessary, and there is an adequate shoulder, the student may choose to negotiate the transition into the street and then stop to recheck traffic. If so, she may need to drive the chair all the way into the street, and then back up to keep from sitting too far into the road while waiting for the next appropriate time to initiate her crossing.

Articulating wheels help keep electric wheelchairs from getting high-centered. The anti-tippers and the drive wheels are mounted on a spring-loaded hinge that allows the drive wheels to drop to the ground when all of the chair's weight is being supported by the smaller caster wheels and the anti-tippers. With manual chairs, the student may choose to turn the wheelie bars to the up position while she negotiates the transition. With the wheelie bars up, she has to be extra careful not to push too hard and tip the chair over backward while she attempts to ascend the slope into or out of the street. Leaning forward, putting the student's weight over the front casters also helps keep the front wheels from lifting.

If the desired line of travel is parallel to the descent line of the curb ramp, the student pulls to the bottom of the curb ramp and checks the transition from the curb ramp to the street. She may also need to determine how far the perpendicular traffic is from the front of the chair. If the transition is smooth (without a V), the student can wait on the curb ramp until the appropriate time to initiate her crossing. If the transition is not smooth, the student should determine if the perpendicular traffic is far enough away from the bottom of the ramp to allow her to negotiate the transition and wait in the street. If it is, the student should pull onto the street and wait for an appropriate time to initiate her crossing. The student should check the curb to ensure that she is not sitting any farther into the street than necessary.

When pulling into the street, she may want to wait for a time without perpendicular traffic to navigate onto the street. If she pulls into the street with perpendicular traffic moving, the traffic may stop, change lanes, or react in some undesirable way because the drivers think the student is trying to cross. Drivers may honk at students. Sometimes drivers have nearly wrecked because the cars behind them didn't expect the car in front to stop, or because a driver suddenly changed lanes and cut off other vehicles.

If the curb ramp is perpendicular to the line of travel needed for the street crossing, the student has to determine the amount of shoulder at each side of the street. If there is room to be in the street, she will have to negotiate the curb ramp, pull into the street, turn to face the street to be crossed, and shoreline the curb to the point where she wishes to wait for the appropriate time to initiate her crossing. She should wait at the same location as if she were crossing a street without sidewalks. See below for specifics on how to determine where to wait. If there is not adequate shoulder to wait for the crossing in the street, the student will need enough time to negotiate the curb ramp and complete the crossing without stopping.

If the curb ramp is diagonal to the line of travel needed for the street crossing, the student has to negotiate the curb and turn to face the perpendicular street. Once in the street, the student should check the curb on the side of the chair farthest from the parallel street. If she is too far out, she should back up until the chair is back to the bottom of the ramp. Sometimes when students turn to face the perpendicular street, the chair may not be far enough into the street to start with and the chair ends up facing the side of the curb ramp.

Watch video SCS10j: Street Crossing Skills: Driving off the sides of curb ramps.

If the student discovers that she will be driving off a drop-off, she should turn toward the parallel street, pull forward again, and then turn back to face the perpendicular street. After adjusting, the student should check again to ensure the chair won't be driving off the side of the curb and that she isn't too far into the intersection. Depending on the width of the ramp, the consumer may sit partially in the street; but she should be ready to immediately start the street crossing when the appropriate time arrives. She won't waste valuable street-crossing time with adjusting for the ramp. Driving off the side of the ramp tends to throw consumers off the line of travel and, depending on their reaction time, may mess up their timing for crossing the street safely.

No Sidewalks or Accessible Curb Ramps

In the absence of sidewalks or in areas where sidewalks are not accessible, the student must learn to travel in the street. Areas without sidewalks are found in rural, residential, suburban, and urban environments. In areas that have sidewalks but the intersections are not accessible, the student should determine which street is the quietest and turn down that sidewalk to find a driveway. The student drives out the driveway to the street and returns to the corner. Once the student reaches the corner, there are three potential locations where she can wait to initiate her street crossing:

• Waiting on the side of the parallel street - If there is little or no shoulder on the perpendicular street and either the student can see the far corner to which she is crossing, or the parallel street has enough traffic that the student can use auditory alignment, she pulls up to the intersection and sits in the parallel street. This is used most commonly for crossing 2-way stop intersections. At 4-way stop intersections and light-controlled intersections, the student should be aware of vehicles that pull up to the light or stop sign and turn right. The driver may be looking to the left or straight ahead and not see the wheelchair user initiate her crossing. If parallel traffic is sitting at the intersection when the student approaches, the student should not pass the vehicle on the right. The driver will have no clue that the student is sitting to the side of the vehicle and may turn into the wheelchair.

  

• Waiting at the point of the intersection - Many students are most comfortable waiting at the point of the intersection. This position is the farthest away from both the parallel and perpendicular traffic. The chair can be positioned either parallel to the curb, or aligned with the parallel traffic. If the student sees the far side of the intersection, she should hug the curb and wait with the chair parallel to the curb. Scooter users should sit with the T-bar pointed in the line they want to travel. When it is time to initiate the crossing, the scooter user accelerates and adjusts the T-bar to maintain a straight line to the far curb. With electric and manual wheelchairs, students may have to drive straight initially and then gradually turn to face the desired line of travel. An immediate turn may cause the back of the chair to hit and drag against the curb. While the wheelchair user sits and waits for the time to initiate the crossing, the chair should be at an angle, facing the street to be crossed. If the direction of approach leaves the back of the chair to the street to be crossed, the student needs to turn around. She can turn either to face the curb or away from it. Both have advantages. Facing the curb allows the consumer to keep track of the curb and to keep from getting too far out into the street during the turn. Keeping the back of the chair to the curb causes the bigger wheels to be closer to the curb; this keeps the casters out of any gutter that they could catch on, causing the chair to be temporarily stuck. If the casters get stuck, the student may have to back straight up to pull the casters out of the gutter.

  

• If there is room, the student may want to align with the parallel traffic before the crossing. Students who need to use auditory alignment will have to turn the chair to align with the parallel traffic and then wait for the appropriate time to cross. The student should reach the point of the intersection and then turn to face the perpendicular traffic. She should use her cane to check the distance that she is from the curb. Most beginners sit several feet out in the street; they should back to the curb and turn again to align. Remind the student to point the cane behind her before she backs up.

  

• Waiting in the perpendicular street - If the student cannot see the far-side curb and there is not adequate parallel traffic for auditory alignment, or if the student wants to cross the street at the narrowest point, she should pull the chair to the side of the perpendicular street, just past the point where the curve ends. She then turns to face the perpendicular street. She uses her cane or backs the rear wheels against the curb to confirm that she faces perpendicular to the curb. This technique requires adequate shoulder for the chair to be out of the traffic lane. Most residential streets have a parking lane along the side of the road; this gives the student plenty of room to sit in the street. If parked cars block the student's view of traffic or block the traffic's view of the student, she may need to establish herself in the street and then pull part way forward to clear the parked cars before rechecking for traffic.

  

Watch video SCS10k: Street Crossing Skills: Positions for waiting in the street.

General Suggestions for Street Crossings

When crossing light-controlled intersections, it is easy to veer out of the intended path of travel. The student must pay attention to the parallel traffic noises and have a time/distance concept about how long it should take to complete the crossing. The student should practice crossing wide-open spaces in parking lots. If possible, give the student cues about how many lanes of traffic she must cross. Walking with the student, say, "Ok, that would be one lane . . . now you would have crossed two . . . this would make three," and so forth. It also helps to have the student follow a moving sound source across open space. Do not keep the sound source directly in front of the student; keep it just to the right of center, or just to the left. Another option is to place the sound source on the ground and have the student pass it on the right or on the left.

It is possible to use environmental cues to maintain a line of travel. The student aligns herself with the parallel traffic and then notes the position of the sun. The object is to keep the sun in the same relative position as she completes the crossing. Stationary sounds, such as AC compressors, can be used in much the same way as the sun.

The student might have trouble crossing the street fast enough. If the light changes before she crosses completely, the perpendicular traffic may start moving, leaving her stranded in the middle of the road. Crossing on the left side of the street may provide the perpendicular traffic on the last half of the crossing a better view of the student as she tries to finish the crossing. If the student is caught in the street halfway through a crossing, she should turn to the right and straddle the yellow line. She should face the oncoming traffic approaching in the lanes that remain to be crossed. If drivers see the student trying to cross the street, usually they will allow her to finish.

When crossing on the left-hand side, the pedestrian usually initiates the crossing by moving into a dead lane. A "dead lane" refers to a lane that does not have moving traffic because of a red light. A "live lane" may not have traffic at the moment, but has nothing preventing cars from entering it. If traffic in the near parallel lane is moving, the cars approaching the intersection on the consumer's left will be stationary. It can be more comfortable to initiate the crossing in front of stopped cars instead of a lane that may have cars turning into it.

When crossing on the right, the lane being stepped into may have near parallel traffic turning right into it, or it may have far parallel traffic turning left into it. Either way, the student is potentially moving into an active traffic lane. At intersections where most of the parallel traffic is turning right onto the perpendicular street, the student may never get the chance to initiate the crossing, unless a near parallel car stops to wait for her; but then if the car sits there, the pedestrian does not have near parallel traffic with which to cross. When on the left, the majority of cars may be turning left onto the major street, but the pedestrian has the first few dead lanes to establish herself in the street before having to cross the lanes cars are turning into. Either way, the student is trusting in the drivers to yield. At least on the left, the student has a chance to get started.

Watch video SCS10l: Street Crossing Skills: Advantages of crossing on left side.

For more information on street crossings, see Foundations of Orientation and Mobility Volume 2, Chapter 12. In general, once a student is positioned to cross a street, the timing to initiate crossings is the same as those for ambulatory students.

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