A4.1. Visual impairments

There are 207,000 registered blind or severely visually impaired people in France (of which 61,000 are completely blind) (DREES 2005).

These disabilities increase with age. Nearly one in two visually impaired people indicate a severe lack of capacity to do household chores and management (performing common household tasks, preparing meals, filling out simple forms). This low use of technical aids is primarily due to the fact that they must be trained to use special equipment, which can be time-consuming or expensive, which explains why people who become visually impaired over the course of their life, and sometimes late in life, may not have access to them.

Half of visually impaired people require the assistance of a third party to perform everyday actions or for mobility².

A4.2. Hearing impairments

In France, 303,000 people suffer from serious or profound hearing impairment. For example, among people from 60 to 74 years old, just over one in five have a hearing impairment. In people over 75, this figure is approximately two out of every five people^3,4.

These severe disabilities mainly affect mobility, travel, activities that require flexibility and dexterity, household tasks and responding to events in their everyday lives, which makes it safe to assume that, as with visually impaired people, they are exposed to a high risk of accidents in their everyday lives.

Out of those with severe disabilities, it is almost always the hearing impaired who have one or more associated impairments for different areas of activity. Given the aging of the population, this phenomenon may increase in the number of people it affects in the years to come.

The cost involved is a major obstacle to providing equipment and technical aids. Devices for use in everyday life (ovens, hotplates, alarm systems) exist, but they are more expensive if they are adapted for those with sensory deficiencies. In addition, the “all-inclusive” design of equipment is insufficiently developed, even though it would resolve a good number of the difficulties encountered by people with disabilities, while also, as soon as they are manufactured on an industrial scale, allowing for a reduction in the purchase price of the equipment.

The principles of universal design (“design for all”) consist of integrating the various different requirements for all consumers (including the elderly and those with disabilities) in the design phase of the products. This is systematically converted into greater comfort and convenience for all.

Thus, for financial reasons, it is the case that a number of people with sensory deficiencies do not have access to aids that give them the chance to preserve not only their autonomy, but also their safety in their daily lives.

The installation of tactile paving at the edges of public stairs and the addition of auditory indicators at stoplights for pedestrians are all valuable systems, but it is necessary for them to be widespread. With a lack of systematization and normalization, these systems can become risk factors for people who rely on them. The hearing impaired face a major problem specific to their disability: the inability to contact emergency services in case of an emergency. If an emergency occurs, they are forced to rely on someone nearby, which is impossible if the person cannot move and is isolated, and which in any case would require additional time – and in the case of an emergency, this can make a decisive difference. The lack of a mechanism with which to make an emergency call is itself a major risk. Indeed, in certain situations such as home improvement, cooking, chores or walks, the hearing impaired feel that they are not at any greater risk than people with normal levels of hearing; their risk is increased by the fact that in the event of an accident, they may find themselves unable to call for help.

A4.3. The household environment in general

For risks of fire, flood and other incidents related to electrical equipment, heating or other uses, the visually impaired, to whom it is less immediately obvious where the central circuit breaker or the shut-off valves for the water meter and/or gas meter are, may find it difficult to take initial emergency measures. To remedy this type of situation, it is important to make sure they know the location of these devices in all of the places that they regularly frequent (their home, their office, etc.).

With regard to fire alarms, the visually impaired will find a loud and continuous alarm destabilizing. In the case of an emergency, these deafening sounds could prevent them from locating themselves correctly in space, relying on what they call the “sense of the masses” to identify obstacles. An intermittent alarm sound allows for this problem to be reduced.

For the hearing impaired, alarms or other light-based warning systems may make a difference, but are ineffective at night. In fact, while they are asleep, they cannot make use of sight, their “substitute sense”. Moreover, those who are profoundly deaf may be able to notice vibrating alarms or warning systems (which may include smoke detectors, doorbells, baby monitors or ringing phones), but in reality these are not very widespread or are more expensive than traditional items.

A4.4. In the kitchen

The kitchen is the most dangerous room in the house, particularly for the visually impaired. Many accidents occur due to the incorrect identification of products, including maintenance products that can be confused with each other or that can be mistaken for food products. It is critically important that all products be labeled in very large print (for those with visual impairments) and Braille (for the blind).

With regard to appliances, including oven burners and ovens themselves, their smooth surfaces and digital displays make these devices potentially unusable by the blind or visually impaired. In fact, it is impossible to provide or put in place tactile indicators.

On this point, it is particularly regrettable that induction systems, which have the particular feature of not being hot to the touch, and thus represent a real step forward in terms of safety, are not available to order with textured surfaces and are thus unhelpful for the visually impaired.

Visually impaired people (and others) experience difficulties with food packaging, which claim to be “easy to open” but are not up to scratch, and this obliges people to resort to manipulations or using utensils that are not suitable for the task, which increases the risk of injury (this includes packaging in sealed plastic).

A4.5. In the bathroom

For the visually impaired, there is an increased risk of burns from hot water.

The risk of falling can be limited by the use of non-slip tiles on shower floors or a non-slip mat.

In the bathroom (as with the kitchen), visually impaired people face the problem of identifying toiletries, which can have packaging that is similar to different products and labeling that in many cases is not suitable. A European directive aims to require pharmaceutical laboratories to label drugs in Braille and large print⁵.

A4.6. Outside of the house

In the garage, the cellar or the workshop, tools or other materials stored in high places create a serious risk of impact with the faces of people who are visually impaired. The surfaces of garage entries, driveways and decks are often slippery, which constitutes an increased risk of falling down, especially for the visually impaired.

Windows, balconies, terraces and external stairs also constitute a major risk of falling, particularly for the visually impaired, when they are not equipped with guard rails, railings or handrails. Windows and doors left open constitute a major risk of collision for the visually impaired. These risks can be reduced by installing tilt and turn windows and sliding doors.

A4.7. Public places and travel in urban areas

In urban areas, a number of risks can be found: garbage on the sidewalks and sudden opening of shutters on the street are just some of the many situations that can present risks for people with disabilities such as visual impairment.

Street crossings remain dangerous for visually impaired people, without audible street-crossing signals or with stoplight crossing buttons that are different in various locations.

Obstacles that prevent cars from parking on sidewalks can be a collision hazard for the visually impaired, as well as preventing their using the edge of the sidewalk as a guide with a white cane.

In general, all isolated ramps and steps not marked by tactile paving are a source of potential falls for the visually impaired, and mainly for those who do not use white canes. Work areas are also often poorly marked by simple plastic tape, which is difficult to detect and often placed in the same location of the obstacle that must be avoided, which prevents any anticipation. Street furniture is often poorly placed or poorly designed. The main problem is obstacles of small size (small barriers that mark off parking areas or prevent cars from parking), as well as all elements (panels, benches, etc.) of which the base (the pole or the foot of the bench) does not allow the obstacle to be identified at the height of a person’s knees (bench seats, for example) or at the height of their face (such as a large panel for posting signs, placed on a pole).

In public places, whether in train stations, schools, sports grounds or recreation areas, the emergency evacuation instructions are not generally accessible for the visually impaired, and audible warning devices or alarms rarely come with visual signals for the deaf.

Public spaces are often poorly designed for the visually impaired, as they often have, in addition to unmarked panels or glass doors: partitions with sharp edges (rather than rounded ones); rough, plaster-like paint that can be painful when touched; furniture at a height that risks impact to the face (such as information screens); and a low use of color contrasts, which would allow the shape of many objects to be more easily perceived, as well as the presence of doors and obstacles (isolated steps, inclined planes, stairs). These poorly suited arrangements are often found, for example, on national education sites, where many children or young people who are visually or hearing impaired are present, although now are no longer regularly integrated into the general school system.

For transportation, in train stations and metro stations, stairways are not systematically indicated by tactile paving, and the train doors opposite the platform are not always locked when the train stops (which creates a risk of falling onto the tracks). In some buses, information screens that are placed very low may create a risk of impact to the face.

The edges of train tracks are often poorly marked. For the deaf, the sound of closing doors is not routinely indicated by a complementary visual signal.

In addition, the information for passengers given at airports or train stations, or on airplanes or trains, are most often only auditory. For the deaf, riding a bicycle can be dangerous, because they are unable to hear a vehicle that is attempting to pass them. In Paris, the equipping of rear-view mirrors on two-wheeled vehicles has allowed for a notable increase in safety.

A4.8. Sports and recreation

The hearing impaired should not be limited by safety issues in their sporting and recreational activities any more than a person with normal levels of hearing. While practicing a sport or a hobby, the biggest risk is arguably the inability to call for help in the case of an accident.

For the visually impaired, many sports have acceptable levels of safety, as long as they are not team sports and they have access to individual coaching from people whom they trust.

Swimming in the ocean can be a problem, because the swimming areas are poorly marked for the visually impaired and these people can easily be pulled away by the current.

The areas around swimming pools, with many auditory cues, can be destabilizing for visually impaired people who usually use their hearing as a substitute sense, and they can thus lose their bearings easily. In addition to this issue, pools often include isolated steps that could be marked by tactile paving and colored stair profiling. Pools can often be too bright (with a risk of glare) and their floors can be too slippery.

What is needed is a paradigm shift, from a policy intended to help people with disabilities to adapt to their environment, to a policy intended to adapt the environment and products to people with disabilities.