Pedestrians and walking

Pedestrians with vision impairment

Stay safe when crossing or walking near roads.

There are important things you can do to increase your safety as a pedestrian with vision impairment:

  • Plan where you will walk and always choose the safest place to cross the road
  • Whenever possible, cross at a pedestrian crossing, traffic signal or pedestrian refuge
  • If you cannot cross the whole road in one attempt, wait on the pedestrian refuge
  • Walk at times when there are other pedestrians
  • Wear bright or light coloured clothing so others can see you.

It is important that all road users know how to identify people who are blind or have low vision.

When driving, riding a motorcycle or bicycle, it is important to be patient with pedestrians and to recognise that people who use canes or dogs may take longer to cross the road. Also be aware that a person who is vision impaired may not make eye contact, or respond to visual gestures.

People who are blind or have low vision have less information to rely on when making critical decisions about where and when to cross the road. Other senses, such as hearing can assist, but do not compensate for the loss of vision. People who are vision impaired may use a white cane to help them get around. There are three main types of canes:

  • identification cane
  • long cane
  • support cane

People who are vision impaired people may have a dog:

  • guide dog
  • seeing eye dog

View more on how you can help pedestrians with low vision stay safe in the video below.