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http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/12558953.htm
The local agency that controls money for transportation is going to adapt 162 emergency call phones on county roads so that the deaf can use them, even though the six phones for the deaf already in operation for the past two years have never been used.
The adaptation will cost $323,000. The money comes from a $1 charge in motor vehicle license fees.
An attorney for the deaf, who filed suit in order to have the call boxes adapted for use by the hearing-impaired, says it does not matter whether the phones are used; they should be there in case of an emergency, as they are for those who can hear.
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments agreed to the expansion of its emergency phone services in order to get out of a lawsuit. The plaintiffs dropped them as defendants in June, shortly after SLOCOG agreed to the change in phones.
The California Center for Law and the Deaf filed the class-action suit in April. They charged that San Luis Obispo and eight other counties, as well as the CHP and Caltrans, were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A call box without the TTY (the adaptation for the hearing-impaired) is both dangerous and discriminatory, said Jennifer Pesek of the Center for Law and the Deaf. If you're using the emergency phone you're already in a bad situation, and "you need to be able to both see and hear," she said.
She said her organization filed the lawsuit in order to pressure defendants. They have worked hard to settle, she said, and the results are evident: Only two counties -- San Bernardino and Riverside -- out of the original nine remain as defendants, along with the CHP and Caltrans.
Phil Chu of SLOCOG said six of the phones were installed on the Cuesta Grade two years ago because that is the area where emergency call boxes get the most use. They have not been used by the hearing-impaired.
Chu said those boxes were used by hearing people an average of about five or six times a month during the two years. Countywide, the 168 call boxes are used between 1.6 and 1.8 times a month.
Pesek says asking about usage misses the point. "You and I may not have used a call box," she said, "but we want it to be there."
The installation comes as some counties prepare to cut back the number of call boxes, rendered less necessary because people have cell phones. In parts of the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas, Chu said, call boxes, once spaced every quarter- to half-mile, are being spaced out to every two miles.
"Within the last five or 10 years, the usage rate has dropped significantly," Chu said. "We've never done any pulling out here yet; we see this as a safety net."
Pesek sees call boxes the same way. Cell phones aren't much use to the deaf, she says. Even with text messaging, all you can do with that is call a friend or relative. "You can't call 911 or AAA with text messaging."
"If you're a woman on a deserted road, you don't want to wait for a friend to get there an hour later," Pesek says. "Are we willing to risk the lives of people who are deaf and hard of hearing?"
The local agency that controls money for transportation is going to adapt 162 emergency call phones on county roads so that the deaf can use them, even though the six phones for the deaf already in operation for the past two years have never been used.
The adaptation will cost $323,000. The money comes from a $1 charge in motor vehicle license fees.
An attorney for the deaf, who filed suit in order to have the call boxes adapted for use by the hearing-impaired, says it does not matter whether the phones are used; they should be there in case of an emergency, as they are for those who can hear.
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments agreed to the expansion of its emergency phone services in order to get out of a lawsuit. The plaintiffs dropped them as defendants in June, shortly after SLOCOG agreed to the change in phones.
The California Center for Law and the Deaf filed the class-action suit in April. They charged that San Luis Obispo and eight other counties, as well as the CHP and Caltrans, were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A call box without the TTY (the adaptation for the hearing-impaired) is both dangerous and discriminatory, said Jennifer Pesek of the Center for Law and the Deaf. If you're using the emergency phone you're already in a bad situation, and "you need to be able to both see and hear," she said.
She said her organization filed the lawsuit in order to pressure defendants. They have worked hard to settle, she said, and the results are evident: Only two counties -- San Bernardino and Riverside -- out of the original nine remain as defendants, along with the CHP and Caltrans.
Phil Chu of SLOCOG said six of the phones were installed on the Cuesta Grade two years ago because that is the area where emergency call boxes get the most use. They have not been used by the hearing-impaired.
Chu said those boxes were used by hearing people an average of about five or six times a month during the two years. Countywide, the 168 call boxes are used between 1.6 and 1.8 times a month.
Pesek says asking about usage misses the point. "You and I may not have used a call box," she said, "but we want it to be there."
The installation comes as some counties prepare to cut back the number of call boxes, rendered less necessary because people have cell phones. In parts of the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas, Chu said, call boxes, once spaced every quarter- to half-mile, are being spaced out to every two miles.
"Within the last five or 10 years, the usage rate has dropped significantly," Chu said. "We've never done any pulling out here yet; we see this as a safety net."
Pesek sees call boxes the same way. Cell phones aren't much use to the deaf, she says. Even with text messaging, all you can do with that is call a friend or relative. "You can't call 911 or AAA with text messaging."
"If you're a woman on a deserted road, you don't want to wait for a friend to get there an hour later," Pesek says. "Are we willing to risk the lives of people who are deaf and hard of hearing?"