Braille Rallye, ya wanna drive?

[Rmichael1]

CenTex smart Club is working with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin on a Braille Rallye with only smart car drivers. If you are interested please save the date (November 15, 2008) and respond YES to this poll (and/or contact Rmichael1 so you can be sent a driver application when the event is confirmed)!

A Braille Rallye is a timed auto sports event where a driver is paired with a visually impaired or blind co-pilot (navigator), who is responsible for reading the directions, in Braille or large print, and guiding the driver to the check points and through the course using public roads and ordinary traffic rules with the object of maintaining a specified average speed between checkpoints over a route unknown to the participants until the start of the event. It's not how fast you make it but whether you make it as close as possible to the optimal time while following all the rules of the road! This type of auto sports event is designed to promote Braille and literacy skills, sportsmanship, team effort, and to help students achieve a sense of accomplishment.

[Rmichael1]

Aw, someone voted "no". I hope we have enough cars.

[SmartPassion]

Don't mean to highjack the thread but here are some pictures from the So Cal Braille Rallye in Los Angeles where several Smarties participated.

Photos - SoCal Smarties (Los Angeles, CA) - Meetup.com

It was a rewarding experience. Hope Texas Smarties sign up.

[Rmichael1]

A little more info:
on the day of the event the drivers and students (mostly middle and high school) show up at the Tx Sch for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Parents sign a waiver, drivers provide proof of Insurance etc. The navigator get directions to 4 or 5 check points in Braille (the driver has an emergency set of directions in print). The driver and navigator head out and complete the run and return to the school for the final check point. Times are taken, calculated, and winners are presented trophies.

This event is open to any smart driver who wants to drive to Austin to attend. We will likely need 20 to 25 drivers. The media is likely to attend so I'm crossing my fingers that enough smart drivers sign on and we don't have to open it up to other types of cars.