Blind Man Car Rally Promotes Racing Diversity

This rally in India is trying to break societal barriers for people with disabilities.

byAlejandra O'Connell-Domenech|
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India is hosting its 11th annual blind man car rally in order to empower the blind and to build relationships between the sighted and the blind, according to Gizmodo.

The rally is meant to act as a reminder to the blind and sighted that the blind are capable of racing just as well as any other person.  

Anybody is allowed to participate in the rally. If interested, one simply needs to show up to the designated starting point and wait to be paired with a partner. Usually, cars are decorated according to the year's theme. Teams are made up of at least two people and each team is given a set of directions and speeds that they need to maintain while driving. The reason behind limiting how fast or how slowly teams can drive is to ensure the safety of everyone involved. 

The navigator is a visually impaired person who will shout out directions as they use a braille map to direct their partner to various checkpoints, according to Times of India. There are some other rules to the rally, arriving early or late to checkpoints will hurt a team's score.

The event is organized by the rotary club Round Table India with all proceeds going to "the welfare of the visually impaired and education for underprivileged children," according to an event page on Facebook

On Sunday, Aug. 5, Bangalore will host its Blind Man Car Rally, according to Sports Skeeda. Rotary Bangalore Indian Abilities and the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India are also helping organize the upcoming rally in Bangalore. 

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