Visually impaired navigators provide directions for sighted drivers during this unique car rally. A Road Rally might include navigating to areas within your city or community, such as a fire station, park, school, etc. Each navigator is given a list of destinations. Depending on the skills being taught, the navigator can use a tactile map, an accessible digital map on a smart phone or a navigation app such as BlindSquare, the navigator must provide directions to the driver. The driver must follow these directions exactly. If using a smart phone, the navigator should use headphones/ear buds so that the driver does not hear the step-by-step instructions. The smartphone screen should not be visible to the driver (screen curtain works well if using VoiceOver on an iPhone). All drivers must obey all traffic laws!
O&M Hint: Road Rally is a fun activity to practice functional O&M tech skills!
Read this article about road rally for blind students, Visually impaired show the Way to sighted car drivers
Road Rally Scavenger Hunt
Another option is to do a Road Rally Scavenger Hunt. This requires that a driver and navigator decode clues to reach each checkpoint. At the checkpoint, the team takes a digital picture to document that they arrived at the correct destination. All checkpoints must be reached and the first team to arrive at the final destination is the winner. If time is limited, a set time amount of time can be given and the team that is in on time and has the reached the most checkpoints is the winner.
Often, the final destination can be someplace fun, such as a restaurant or ice cream store.
A clue might be, “ Sometimes you throw a dart at me, others use me for shooting practice. I am a . . . “ (Target – checkpoint is the Target store). The objective might be to take pictures or videos of specific things, such as find a specific (number) of a post office box, find a 1960’s car, go to a restaurant and order fries and sing “The Wheels on the Bus”.
A Road Rally Scavenger Hunt is a fun club, team or church group event. If the goal is to practice navigation or O&M skills, be sure that the visually impaired student is the designated navigator!
By Diane Brauner
