Skip to main content

Sight unseen

Two British men are now counting the cost of a rather foolish idea they had. One of the men was keen to drive a powerful Subaru Impreza, despite the fact that he was legally blind, due to suffering a degenerative condition that has resulted in almost total loss of sight. With his friend sitting beside him giving him instructions, the blind man set off driving the high performance car along a public road. Somewhat predictably the car crashed when the blind driver failed to negotiate a large obstacle by the s
December 2, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Two British men are now counting the cost of a rather foolish idea they had. One of the men was keen to drive a powerful Subaru Impreza, despite the fact that he was legally blind, due to suffering a degenerative condition that has resulted in almost total loss of sight. With his friend sitting beside him giving him instructions, the blind man set off driving the high performance car along a public road. Somewhat predictably the car crashed when the blind driver failed to negotiate a large obstacle by the side of the road. Luckily no one was seriously hurt, although the car had narrowly missed a pedestrian by the roadside as it travelled at speed along the road and following was what described as a highly erratic path. The two men have been charged by the police.

Related Content

  • Driverless car created at Oxford University
    February 18, 2013
    Scientists at Oxford University in England have developed a driverless car system that can be installed in existing cars. A Nissan Leaf electric car has been used to test the system developed by a team headed by Professor Paul Newman. The car can deal with adverse weather conditions and halts for pedestrians, as well as being able to take over from the driver when negotiating regular commutes or traffic jams. Professor Newman reportedly describes it as an advanced driver assistance system in essence, claimi
  • Pedal to the metal
    June 26, 2012
    An Austrian artist named Hannes Langeder has designed and built a pedal-powered supercar, which he calls the Fahrradi Farfalla FX. The man previously built what he described as the world’s slowest Porsche, another pedal-powered creation. Designed to be pedalled by two, his new vehicle’s styling has been influenced by various Ferrari models and features gull wing type doors. A connection from the rear axle can make the doors flap while the vehicle is in motion, which helps cool the interior. The artist claim
  • The Lessons of the Genoa bridge collapse
    April 23, 2019
    The partial collapse of the Polcevera viaduct, better known as the Morandi Bridge, has prompted debate regarding the technical and administrative aspects of maintaining road infrastructures. We discussed it with the engineer Gabriele Camomilla, former Director of Research and Maintenance of the Società Autostrade, who coordinated the only major structural intervention performed on the bridge, carried out in the early 1990s
  • Wrong time to end right turns?
    March 15, 2024
    Banning right-hand turns after stopping for a red light is gaining momentum in the US. But debate continues about whether it will result in fewer incidents between vehicles and alternative mobility users. David Arminas reports.