RURAL AMERICANS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES BEING LEFT IN DUST AGAIN?
earlier this week the media around self-driving was all about NYC and it’s new self-driving shuttles. Before that it was self-driving trucks in the Dallas TX area. There were even some stories about robotic charging stations being “rolled out” by VW and some delays in Solar /sun roofs for Tesla. Sometimes what is not being said speaks far louder than was is being said and in this case there seems to be some truth to that old adage.
What about small town America and the farmlands? When are we going to hear about people with disabilities from these parts of our country and transportation systems being included in the emerging tech? There is some movement in Grand Rapids MI, which some people would call the middle of nowhere but that’s simply not the case. It is a smaller progressive city and transportation advocates have been working hard there for years. Still GR is not Yale or Harbor Beach or any number of small towns where there transportation challenges that might be. Addressed by self-driving options (or any options). It’s a plain and simple fact that people with disabilities in rural America have had few options for far too long already and many small communities would be happy to host test projects just so folks could get to the local farm and feed stores. There are seniors who live in assisted living and other retirement homes that are experiencing isolation and yet we aren’t hearing of shuttles being tested in Perry Iowa or Buzzard Breath Wyoming. It seems as if some self-driving companies are quick to shine in the spotlight of the Big Apple but they are laying a big fat goose egg in the land of corn and chickens...
Come on lawmakers, if the car/transit people aren’t going to do this for rural folks, it is time for you to step up and demand it of them. Come on just one major manufacturer—make the headlines by breaking down these small town and rural barriers to inclusion. In most of rural America you wouldn’t have to worry about traffic congestion except at fair time or maybe harvest time. Grab some headlines by being the first and being the best at it. Come on reporters start to notice what we are not hearing about the corn growers, wheat farmers, and dairy producers being added to the list of people experiencing this new technology.
To sum it up we have people who live in and near communities that feed the world and are limited by lack of options—don’t let these people get left in the dust that rises from the fields that feed the nation.RURAL AMERICANS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES BEING LEFT IN DUST AGAIN?
earlier this week the media around self-driving was all about NYC and it’s new self-driving shuttles. Before that it was self-driving trucks in the Dallas TX area. There were even some stories about robotic charging stations being “rolled out” by VW and some delays in Solar /sun roofs for Tesla. Sometimes what is not being said speaks far louder than was is being said and in this case there seems to be some truth to that old adage.
What about small town America and the farmlands? When are we going to hear about people with disabilities from these parts of our country and transportation systems being included in the emerging tech? There is some movement in Grand Rapids MI, which some people would call the middle of nowhere but that’s simply not the case. It is a smaller progressive city and transportation advocates have been working hard there for years. Still GR is not Yale or Harbor Beach or any number of small towns where there transportation challenges that might be. Addressed by self-driving options (or any options). It’s a plain and simple fact that people with disabilities in rural America have had few options for far too long already and many small communities would be happy to host test projects just so folks could get to the local farm and feed stores. There are seniors who live in assisted living and other retirement homes that are experiencing isolation and yet we aren’t hearing of shuttles being tested in Perry Iowa or Buzzard Breath Wyoming. It seems as if some self-driving companies are quick to shine in the spotlight of the Big Apple but they are laying a big fat goose egg in the land of corn and chickens...
Come on lawmakers, if the car/transit people aren’t going to do this for rural folks, it is time for you to step up and demand it of them. Come on just one major manufacturer—make the headlines by breaking down these small town and rural barriers to inclusion. In most of rural America you wouldn’t have to worry about traffic congestion except at fair time or maybe harvest time. Grab some headlines by being the first and being the best at it. Come on reporters start to notice what we are not hearing about the corn growers, wheat farmers, and dairy producers being added to the list of people experiencing this new technology.
To sum it up we have people who live in and near communities that feed the world and are limited by lack of options—don’t let these people get left in the dust that rises from the fields that feed the nation.
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