SAE-AIR-5471-2001-R2007.pdf

SAE Technical Standards Board Rules provide that: “This report is published by SAE to advance the state of technical and engineering sciences. The use of this report is entirely voluntary, and its applicability and suitability for any particular use, including any patent infringement arising therefrom, is the sole responsibility of the user.” SAE reviews each technical report at least every five years at which time it may be reaffirmed, revised, or cancelled. SAE invites your written comments and suggestions. Copyright © 2007 SAE International All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SAE. TO PLACE A DOCUMENT ORDER:Tel: 877-606-7323 (inside USA and Canada) Tel: 724-776-4970 (outside USA) Fax: 724-776-0790 Email: CustomerServicesae.org SAE WEB ADDRESS:http:/www.sae.org AEROSPACE INFORMATION REPORT AIR5471 Issued2001-03 Reaffirmed2007-02 Limitations of Braille for Use on Passenger Safety Instruction Cards RATIONALE This document has been reaffirmed to comply with the SAE 5-year Review policy. 1.SCOPE: This information is to aid the international air transport industry when considering the communication of safety information to sight-impaired passengers. 1.1Purpose: This AIR discusses the use and limitations of braille for communicating safety information to sight-impaired passengers. 2.REFERENCES: 2.1Applicable Documents: The following publications form a part of this document to the extent specified herein. The latest issue of SAE publications shall apply. The applicable issue of other publications shall be the issue in effect on the date of the purchase order. In the event of conflict between the text of this document and references cited herein, the text of this document takes precedence. Nothing in this document, however, supersedes applicable laws and regulations unless a specific exemption has been obtained. 2.1.1SAE Publications: Available from SAE, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001. ARP1384Passenger Safety Information Cards 2.1.2U.S. Government Publications: Available from DODSSP, Subscription Services Desk, Building 4D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094. United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14, Parts 91/121/125/135 FAA Advisory Circular AC No: 121-24, Passenger Safety Information Briefing and Briefing Cards Copyright SAE International Provided by IHS under license with SAELicensee=Defense Supply Ctr/5913977001 Not for Resale, 12/04/2007 18:36:05 MSTNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS -,-,- SAE AIR5471 - 2 - 2.1.3Applicable References: Reference 1Tactile Acuity, Aging, and Braille Reading in Long-Term Blindness, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 1996, Vol. 2, 91-106 Reference 2Washington Talking Book Library, 2021 9th Ave, Seattle, Washington, 98121 Reference 3Presentation on November 3, 1998, to SAE-S9 Subcommittee by Takao Kawakita, Chairman, Organizing Committee for IREI Air Safety, Renrakukai, 12-13 Hata 1-Chome Ikeda-Shi 563 Osaka-Fu, Japan Reference 4ARP5446, Safety Instructions for Sight-Impaired Passengers 3.BACKGROUND: 3.1A request was made that the SAE S-9 committee address the issue of braille safety instruction cards. To that end information was gathered dealing with the issues involving braille reading. Below is a summary of that information. 4.FINDINGS: 4.1Most sight-impaired people do not read braille. The causes of blindness in the braille-reading population are diverse (e.g., accident, cataracts, glaucoma, rubella and other infections, premature birth, retinitis pigmentosa, and detached retina). Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness for persons between ages 20 and 70, but few people with diabetes read braille (Reference 1). Those who become blind as a result of diabetes can suffer damage to the nerves in the fingers as well as the eyes, thereby affecting their ability to read braille. Less than 10% of the 500,000 people in the U.S. who are legally blind read braille (Reference 2). Less than 15% of the 353,000 sight-impaired people in Japan read braille (Reference 3). 4.2Braille is not a universal language. It is used to communicate only in the language a person understands. A braille-reading person could understand an English message only if English were understood. 4.3Braille-reading ability declines with age. Braille is comprised of a series of raised dots which represent a letter or syllab sighted person begins to lose ability to read words on a page at about 40 years of age due to presbyopia. Likewise, at about age 40 the average blind person starts to experience increasing difficulty in resolving gaps between the braille elements. Research shows that the loss in visual acuity and tactile sensitivity occur at about the same rate, approximately 1% per year (Reference 1). Copyright SAE International Provided by IHS under license with SAELicensee=Defense Supply Ctr/5913977001 Not for Resale, 12/04/2007 18:36:05 MSTNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS -,-,- SAE AIR5471 - 3 - 4.3 (Continued): At 60 years of age the sensory threshold of the average braille-reading person has increased to 2.8 mm on the braille-reading fingertip. Since this is larger than the 2.3 mm which separates the dots in a letter, an older person has difficulty determining that letter or syllable. While sighted people can overcome presbyopia with corrective lenses there is no concomitant aid for blind people; blind people have more and more difficulty reading as they age (Reference 1). 4.4Reading braille is a slow process. High school braille readers average 85 words per minutes (Reference 3). Many sighted readers can read at least three times faster. 5.SUMMARY: Braille briefing cards could be useful to those who can read braille. However, if such cards are used they should not be totally relied upon to convey important, need-to-know safety information to all sight-impaired passengers (Reference 3). Blind people who have learned braille will start to lose that ability with age; a braille safety card would become less and less informative to this population. Many adults who lose their sight due to illness or accident will not learn braille. A braille safety card would not be informative to this population. Therefore, most (80 to 90%) of sight-impaired passengers will not be helped by braille briefing cards. Effective means, in addition to braille, should be used to brief most sight-impaired passengers (Reference 4). PREPARED UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF SAE COMMITTEE S-9, CABIN SAFETY PROVISIONS Copyright SAE International Provided by IHS under license with SAELicensee=Defense Supply Ctr/5913977001 Not for Resale, 12/04/2007 18:36:05 MSTNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS -,-,-