In honour of National White Cane Safety Day, 15 October, I wanted to provide you with some interesting information about the white cane.

You’ve most likely seen sight impairred people using the white cane and you probably know that it helps them in some way, but you’ve probably never stopped to think how it helps them or why its white?

Luckily for you, if you ever do wonder and do the proverbial google search you’ve landed in the right place as here are 5 fast facts about the white cane!

1. What is the white cane? You will all know that the white cane is the universal sign of blindness and sight impairment, and we’ve all seen (no pun intended…) the white cane being used as a navigation aid in our day to day lives without giving it a second thought. The white cane is a long cane that helps someone with a sight impairment navigate and avoid obstacles in their path. It is their visual aid that helps identify solid objects, dents, pavements and roads, platform edges, steps and uneven surfaces etc. Some users (such as me) choose to use a cane to move around while others use it to let people know about their sight impairment. White canes tend to be made from either aluminium, carbon fibre or fibre glass; and there are different tips which can be attached to the end – depending on the feedback a user needs to feel objects and obstacles through their cane – such as the marshmallow tip, roller ball tip (my preference) or the pencil/straight tip.

2. How many people use a white cane? Somewhat surprisingly, it is estimated that only 2-8% of people with visual impairments use a white cane; and not all white cane users are fully blind. It depends on each individual’s own vision and mobility needs.

3. Why is the white cane white? The canes are painted white so that they are easily visible to sighted folks such as motorists. The canes were not always white from the start though. Urban legend has it that in 1930, a Lions Clubs member in the United States watched a man who was blind attempting to cross the street with a black cane at night which was barely visible to motorists. The member therefore decided to paint the cane white so that it became more visible and thus the white cane was born (I have no idea if this is true or ‘fake news’ as I wasn’t there, but it is a cool story nonetheless).

4. What do vacuum cleaners have to do with the white cane? Richard E. Hoover (see what I did there), a World War II veterans rehabilitation specialist, developed the standard way to use a white cane (the Hoover Method). The technique involves swinging the cane from the centre of the body from side to side in front of the feet to detect any obstacles in the path of the user.  

5. What about smart white canes? The white cane is going high-tech! Researchers and designers from around the world are using technology such as ultrasound and image recognition to make the white cane even more useful. These smart white canes are able to recognise faces, detect objects, connect with smartphones and function with apps like Google Maps.

And….

6. For any budding muggers out there…not only does a white cane serve as a useful navigation aid, it also, when required, can double up as a useful quarterstaff or protective baton to bat away any over-complacent would-be muggers who thought “that guy using the white cane is an easy target”. If any of you wish to see this dual functionality in