Awareness day urges better driving help visually impaired pedestrians

Reckless driving incidents in Milwaukee continue to frustrate the community. 

It's almost every day -- another life is lost due to the disregard for people's safety. 

A specific group of pedestrians who are worried has a message for drivers.

It looks like a typical workday at Beyond Vision in Milwaukee, but there's a message Friday coming from the company's employees. 

"I want people to know that today is a great day to think about all the harm that reckless driving can do," said Jennifer Wenzel.

White Cane Day

The day also highlights the White Cane Law – requiring drivers to stay 10-feet away from pedestrians who use white canes and guide dogs. 

"Reckless driving does not respect this law and reckless driving does not respect the safety of any pedestrian," said Jim Kerlin.

And as the dangerous road behavior isn't slowing down -- it's a concern for all pedestrians.

"It’s just made me more aware, more careful more cautious. I definitely will wait probably a couple beats more to make sure someone’s not running a red or zooming by when they’re not supposed to," she said.

Beyond Vision employees remind drivers to not honk or yell at white cane users as that can be very distracting.

Jennifer Wenzel explaining visually impaired people rely on hearing to listen for traffic and help orient themselves. 

"Safety is everyone's responsibility and reckless driving needs to stop," said Wenzel.

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