Slashdot Mirror
Judge Says U.S. Money Violates Rights of the Blind
An anonymous reader writes, "The United States is one of the few countries in the world whose currency isn't distinguishable by blind people. Most other nations use raised text, different-sized bills, or other methods to assist blind people in spending their money. If a recent decision by a federal court in D.C. survives appeal, however, that will soon change. Under Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, federal programs cannot deny 'meaningful access' to people with disabilities. Because blind people are unable to distinguish U.S. currency without assistance, the court held that they are denied meaningful access to their own money. U.S. District Judge James Robertson ordered the Treasury Department to come up with ways for the blind to tell bills apart. He said he wouldn't tell officials how to fix the problem, but he ordered them to begin working on it." How Appealing notes that Judge Robertson opened the door to a speedy appeal of his ruling.
Well, you have to carry it around, but there are machines out there that when a bill is scanned through them, will report it's value. So, is there really a need to redesign the bills so that they're accessable to the blind?
In Australia notes are all different colors (red, green, blue, pink etcetc) to make it patently obvious which note is which. It might not help blind people, but it prevents silly mistakes and makes money easily identifiable!
For blind people they are slightly different lengths, which doesn't really effect non blind people.
Exactly what they should do. Most currencies today are done like that, stacking currency is only done in the same bill, so you can tell the difference. Hence most other currencies uses different colours for each note.
The US is behind.
Clicked pie.
And if you add some kind of relief on the bills as well then you will most likely cut down on counterfeit bills as well. Swedish bills have the numbers printed with reliefs and it's very easy just to run your finger over them to make a preliminary check if the bill is real.
In Australia notes are all different colors (red, green, blue, pink etcetc) to make it patently obvious which note is which. It might not help blind people, but it prevents silly mistakes and makes money easily identifiable!
The polymer that Australian Bank Notes are made from also has raised areas to help the blind and the clear windows are also different shapes with a smoother texture. Not just handy for blind people; they're also good anti counterfeiting measures.
The Wikipedia article on the Australian Dollar has a nice chart of the Polymer Series. Having lived in Germany (post Euro), Australia and the U.S.A. I can honestly say that Australian banknote technology is something that the U.S.A. and many other countries really should look into licensing.
Here in the UK, all our banknotes are different sizes and colours, and have a unique symbol on them as well (the £5 note has a blue square, the £10 a brown diamond, and so on). Frankly, as you're rifling through your wallet trying to find the right note, these distinguishing features are a godsend; when I was in the USA on holiday, it was much more time-consuming, although having said that the uniquely-blue $20 note helped a lot.
Having easily-discernable banknotes will save everyone time, and will help the partially-sighted or blind a great deal. Why should they need to buy a device when it can be done by the money printers to everyone's benefit?
And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race
At the beginning of 2002 vast swathes of Western Europe managed to change not just the size and shape of their notes but introduced a completely new currency at the same time. In Germany (and possibly other places) they even managed to fix it so that ATMs gave out Deutschmark right up until midnight on Dec. 31, 2001 and as soon as 2002 rolled over, pumped out shiny new Euro notes.
Other countries such as the UK regularly replace their currency designs, usually every 10 - 15 years or so.
If the US did the same, it would benefit maybe not just blind people but keep e.g. the North Korean counterfeiters on their toes.
One of the things that has prevented the adoption of many of the newer innovations in currency design for US paper currency is the 'crumple test', where a bill is rolled tightly, then inserted into a cylinder and crushed with a ramrod, then removed, rolled the other way, and crushed again. This process is repeated a total of 16 times; the note must remain recognizable. Prospective currency changes also go through a number of other durability tests -- being washed with eight cotton towels, being soaked in a variety of chemicals (such as bleach, sulfuric acid, and gasoline), 'rub tests' with a two-pound weight with a pad after bills are soaked in the chemicals, and others. So far, only relatively minor innovations, like the color-changing ink, have survived the durability tests -- for example, image holograms, IIRC, fail the crumple test badly.