I have been thinking a lot about the unfortunate death of Tara Rose McAvoy and the fact that she did not seem to sense the vibrations of the train approaching behind her. I would like to present one particular viewpoint to my readers.

Hearing parents are well aware of the fact that when their child gets loud or whiny, they can be tuned out. The child begins to plead for a candy bar. What does the parent do? They continue to shop for the items on their list and seem to be oblivious to the nagging cries of their child. To the shoppers surrounding them, it can definitely grate on their nerves. However, for the parent of the whining child, it simply is not happening.

I believe it is the same for a Deaf parent. When their child uses ASL to communicate with them, they also have a method of nagging while they attempt to get that candy bar. The child might tap their parent, stomp their feet, wave their hands, and stand in front of their parent. Yet, I have witnessed one Deaf mother in particular that completely tuned her little one out as he pleaded for some candy, through all of the above mentioned tactics. The mother simply reached over the top of her child’s head to get the item she needed and continued to shop.

It is the same when we are walking and distracted. Two days ago, I was rather surprised, while sitting at a red light, to see a female bicyclist answer her cell phone while pedaling through busy traffic. She did not have full control over her bike, which was obvious because her bike was swerving. She was not able to pay full attention to the traffic around her, since she was preoccupied with her conversation. Could she have stopped in time, if a driver cut her off? I doubt it. Would she have noticed any cars that were attempting to pass her? I do not believe she could have.

I have also witnessed Deaf pedestrians that were typing away on their sidekicks while they crossed the street. With their eyes engrossed in their text conversation, they were completely unaware of the drivers waiting for them to cross the street. Many of them never even looked up to check on their surroundings. A few of them almost got hit by a car, the entire time being completely unaware.

For the hearing person, when they are distracted they are not able to hear all of the sounds around them and can be injured while walking. It is the same for those that are Deaf while they are text messaging a friend or family member, regarding their reliance on vibrations instead of sounds. Even though they may feel the vibration, they may be too distracted to fully focus on it; thus, they may be injured.

I would encourage all pedestrians, whether you are Deaf or hearing, to use restraint with your cell phones or text messaging devices while you are walking in or around any kind of traffic. Please use caution while walking and assure yourselves of your safety for the length of your walk.

I would also like to make a recommendation to our lawmakers. Please consider the Deaf in our communities in regards to alert signals for our pedestrians. Horns are simply not enough. Please take the time to post warning signs on or around the train tracks, as well as considering the use of some type of lighting system to alert those that are Deaf. Protect all of our citizens. Remember, not everyone can hear. We all deserve to be alerted and protected, when danger is approaching.