40% of blind or visually impaired people injured due to footpath obstacles and hazards 

SOME 40% of people who are blind or vision impaired have been injured because of unexpected obstacles or hazards on our footpaths, a new survey has found.

The National Council for the Blind Ireland (NCBI) recently conducted a survey as part of its annual Clear Our Paths campaign.

Of the 104 respondents to the survey, 40 people answered ‘yes’ when asked the question: ‘Have you ever been injured after walking into or falling over an unexpected obstacle on a footpath?’.

Those who were injured also provided insight into the types of injuries sustained because of obstacles on footpaths.

One person revealed that they sustained a broken ankle as a result of unexpected street furniture on a footpath.

One more respondent said: "My child was badly injured through overgrown branches scraping her face."

The survey revealed, with 78 responses, that cars parked on footpaths were the most common obstacles encountered, followed by dog fouling, with 57 responses, and wheelie bins, with 54 responses.

When asked whether experiences with unexpected obstacles on footpaths affected respondents’ confidence to walk on footpaths independently, 69 out of 104 people answered that it did.

Aaron Mullaniff, chief services officer with NCBI said:

 “The findings of this snap survey are extremely disturbing and highlight the very reasons that we all need to clear our paths.

"It’s unacceptable that children and adults who are blind or vision impaired can be injured in any way because of the dangers of unexpected obstacles on our public walkways."

As part of this campaign, NCBI has created a webpage aimed at supporting members of the public to have conversations with family members and friends about the importance of their own behaviour.

NCBI’s #ClearOurPaths campaign will run across social media from August 21 to 25, highlighting the different obstacles each day.