Originally posted by King of Queens:
quote:Originally posted by Glenneration X:
quote:Originally posted by King of Queens:
quote:Originally posted by Glenneration X:
quote:Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:
Why do drive-up atm machines have braille lettering?
This one is hysterical. [/QUOTE]Easy: cheaper to order 10,000 of the same ATM mold than it is to order 8,000 with braille and 2,000 without. [/QUOTE]Pretty sure the outdoor drivethrough ATM's have certain weather proof properties & materials the indoor ones might not......just a guess though. [/QUOTE]From WikiAnswers.com:
Why is there braille lettering on drive-up ATM machines?
It's cheaper to manufacture one kind of ATM that can be used in all situations than it is to manufacture a special one without braille for drive-through ATMs, and there is no downside to doing so (other than apparently making some people scratch their heads). [/QUOTE]Don't believe everything you read on Wiki king....those answers are given by everyday men & women like you and I, not necessarily experts....in fact, if you look further, there are several different answers given to that same question on Wiki and those who are giving the answers are debating amongst themselves which one is correct.....the following is probably the correct answer given that it utilizes sources....(found on Amazon)....
"Q: Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
(4 answers - asked 36 months ago)
A: Americans with Disabilities Act
Drive-up ATM buttons are marked with braille because federal regulations require it. To be specific, section 4.34.4 of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings & Facilities says, "Instructions and all information for use [of an automated teller machine] shall be made accessible to and independently usable by persons with vision impairments." Drive-up ATMs, unlike the walk-up variety, don't need to be wheelchair accessible, but the rules make no exception regarding accessibility by the blind.
Source(s):
Americans with Disabilities Act
http://www.ada.gov
Want to read more...
You're now thinking: boy, those federal bureaucrats sure are stupid. Don't they realize a blind person isn't going to be able to drive to a drive-up ATM? Cecil reserves judgment on the stupidity question, but even if the feds weren't smart enough to notice this little problem on their own, there were plenty of poeple who pointed it out for them before the rule was finalized. The American Bankers Association, for one, asked that drive-up machines be exempt from the visually-impaired requirement, arguing that a blind person using a drive-up ATM would have to be a passenger and that the driver of the vehicle could help with the transaction.
No dice, said the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, reasoning that driver assistance "would not allow the [blind] individual to use the ATM independently." This may sound like one of those absurd points of principle, but ATM manufacturers say a fair number of blind people do take cabs to drive-up ATMs, and nobody wants to ask a total stranger to help with a financial transaction.
Your question does point to a more serious problem, which other readers have also raised: how the hell is a blind person supposed to use any kind of ATM? Whether the keypad numbers are identified with braille or not, there isn't any braille translation of the on-screen instructions, without which the machine is useless. Maybe, you're thinking, the problem isn't the brainless bureaucrats, it's the brainless (or cynical) bankers and ATM builders, who figure a pretense of accessibility will get them off the hook.
But that isn't it either. At the time the accessibility rules were written, and to a great extent still today, there was no agreement on the best way to make ATMs accessible to the blind. More than 50 ideas have been proposed, including a "talking machine," detailed braille instructions, an automated "bank-by-phone" setup with a telephone handset and a keypad, and so on. (Sample problem: if you use a "voice guided" ATM, how do you keep others from overhearing?) Another difficulty was retrofitting the thousands of machines already installed.
The bankers and ATM builders argued that the best thing to do was leave the federal rules vague until the industry figured out a practical approach. The not-entirely-satisfactory solution in the interim has been to (1) mark ATM keypads, input and output slots, etc., with braille, and (2) send braille ATM instruction brochures or audio cassettes to blind bank patrons requesting them. The theory is that while ATM operation varies from machine to machine, people conduct most of their transactions at just a few locations, the operating sequences for which they can memorize. The drawback of this approach is that you have to know that the special instructions are available and you can only use the machines you have instructions for.
Happily, the banks and ATM builders have been reasonably diligent in trying to come up with more accessible equipment, some of which is starting to show up in the marketplace now. About time, say some advocacy groups. "We don't want to see information technology [e.g., ATMs] become the new curb," says Elga Joffee of the American Foundation for the Blind. "There's certainly no reason to squelch evolving technology. I just wish they'd hurry up and evolve it."
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_010.html"
Glenn
