School for the Blind students to celebrate White Cane Safety Awareness Day Oct 16

MUSKOGEE -- Oklahoma School for the Blind will celebrate White Cane Safety Awareness Day starting at 1 p.m. on Oct. 16 at Mural Park in Muskogee.

The school’s event will be held one day after the official national White Cane Safety Awareness Day. It is typically observed every year on October 15.

OSB students and staff will meet in Mural Park, 230 W. Broadway Street and walk a 15-minute route in the downtown area while demonstrating proper cane technique, safe street crossings and travel awareness. 

Members of the public are encouraged to participate or ask questions.

“For 60 years, the blind community has been raising awareness for white cane safety. It is critical for people who are blind and use a white cane or a guide dog to be free to do so safely,” OSB Interim Superintendent Brent Pearce said.

Drivers need to know what the cane represents and how to take precautions so everyone in the community regardless of sight can travel freely and independently, Pearce said.

First established by presidential proclamation in 1964, White Cane Safety Awareness Day was to increase public awareness about the meaning of white cane with red tips and travel safety needs of citizens who use them.

Oklahoma law requires drivers to completely stop their vehicles 15 feet away from pedestrians who are visually impaired and identified by their use of white canes with red tips or guide dogs. People who violate this law are guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to three months or a $100 fine or both.

For more information about OSB’s White Cane Safety Awareness Day contact event coordinator Sherry Holder at (918) 781-8200 or sholder@osb.k12.ok.us

OSB is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services.

The Oklahoma School for the Blind is the statewide resource for the education of blind and visually impaired students. Residential and commuter students meet all state-mandated education requirements and receive specialized instruction in Braille, orientation and mobility, optimum use of low vision, adaptive equipment technology and tactile graphic skills not readily available at other public schools in the state. OSB also provides thousands of hours of free services each year for students attending local public schools, their families and local school staff.

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