Get ready to rev your engines with KZN Blind and Deaf Society
Drivers and blind navigators will take on a course on public roads – the route will be kept secret until the morning of the event.
THE KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society will host their second Blind Navigators Rally this Saturday, November 20.
Drivers, together with blind navigators, will take on a course on public roads, the route of which will remain a secret until the morning of the event. All Covid-19 protocols will be strictly adhered to, and only two participants – the driver and the blind navigator – will be allowed per car. No swopping of drivers or blind navigators will be allowed.
Cars will depart at two-minute intervals from 09:00 from Suncoast Casino VIP Parking 3, and participants must arrive at 07:00 on the day.
According to the KZN Blind and Deaf Society’s marketing director, Yegehsne Naidu, blind navigators will be randomly allocated, and they will guide the drivers by calling out instructions typed in Braille.
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“The ability to work as a team will be tested as both participants in the car are strangers to one another but must completely rely on one another. The blind navigator will use a Braille route schedule to give their driver instructions on what to do at geographical points and at what speed to travel. The driver must identify points, do as instructed to keep on the set route, and strictly adhere to the set speed limits of the rally. The set speeds are generally 10% below the prevailing speed limit of the mapped-out route. Speed limits will vary as the team moves through the course,” said Naidu.
Naidu says that marshals at pre-designated checkpoints will ensure that all drivers are on course to complete the route and will record times to determine the eventual winner.
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“The organisers and marshals at the checkpoints will know the ideal time frame within which competitors should be passing them by. Competitors will be docked a point for being either too early or late at the checkpoint. The team that has scored the lowest number of points will be declared the winner. Prizes will be awarded to the first three teams,” she said.
Naidu explained that the rally is a sport of precision and accuracy rather than an all-out quest for speed. This test of discipline is the very essence of this event and makes it a unique event to be a part of. The event is both challenging and fun, and a wonderful opportunity to learn about abilities and disabilities.
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