Why is braile on drive-thru ATM machines?

April 3, 2010 - 10:32 pm 41 Comments

Blind people can’t drive, so why put braile on "drive-thru” ATM machines?
i don’t have any intention to sound like a mean person, it was just a random thought. thanks for the feedback lol
great observation dragonwing. The screen which give the information isn’t in braile, so how could a blind person read it without assistance, which makes the whole privacy idea pointless.

Also, whats the point for braile in "walk-up" ATMs? Sure you can use braile once you get to the machine, but a blind person isn’t going to be walking down the sidewalk and say, "Oh look! an ATM machine."

more random thoughts…

Because when they make the machines they have no idea where it will be installed. If a company wants to cusom order machines it would be at a greater cost so to keep the overhead down they buy the stock machine and stick it where ever they want be it walk up or drive through.

41 Responses to “Why is braile on drive-thru ATM machines?”

  1. Odessa R Says:

    in case they are in the back of the car of someone driving and need cash …they do ride in cars even if they are blind
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  2. Just call me sunshine Says:

    Someone else may have driven them, but they still like to do as much as they can for themselves, or don’t want their driver to know their pin number.
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  3. Kathy A Says:

    because the LAW says so….what if the driver can see, but the passanger is blind and has the only ATM card….then THEY have to use it..I bet you have two good legs and STILL walk up wheelchair ramps and think nothing of it…
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  4. lint Says:

    Because when they make the machines they have no idea where it will be installed. If a company wants to cusom order machines it would be at a greater cost so to keep the overhead down they buy the stock machine and stick it where ever they want be it walk up or drive through.
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  5. Walt. Says:

    Silly, because a blind person needs a good driver, eh!
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  6. Sunidaze Says:

    I don’t know about you, but I’ve actually walked up to ‘drive-thru’ atm machines.
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  7. Robbi p Says:

    probably because they just make one type of ATM machine and put them everywhere. They aren’t going to make separate ATMs for walking ATMs and drive-thru places.
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  8. esther Says:

    no question is a dum question. you know the answer. blind people , or whatever a person disability may be the world is a where of us thank to ADA, and places nation wide or assiable to us. oh by the way blind people do own cars , with drivers. Blind people do drive cars, but on their own private property and have drivers licences. smile and be happy for them. God Bless u
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  9. pinkstealth Says:

    I hope they are riding with someone else.
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  10. Catwoman2970 Says:

    I know. And I wonder why there’s braille on bathroom signs. If a blind person asked for the bathroom, the other person will direct them to the right one.
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  11. conebone Says:

    to keep down lawsuits
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  12. Dan R Says:

    Yeah, this is a common "observation" often made at comedy clubs by the less funny comedians. Think about it though, the companies that makes buttons for ATMs, elevators, etc. aren’t going to redesign them just because one happens to be in a drive through.
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  13. bumppo Says:

    So if you ever get a blind guy stuck to your front bumper he can pick up a couple bucks on his way to the hospital.
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  14. lizB Says:

    becuz if this person drives thru and suddenly this fly just kills their eye, then they still can use braille to get money.
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  15. J.J + D.L= ♥ ♥♥ Says:

    because they dont have to drive some one else can drive and they have to get money some how
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  16. callaudrey2pray@sbcglobal.net Says:

    They quite often have someone who does drive them places and just because they can’t drive doesn’t mean that they don’t need money after bank hours. They can always get out of car and use the machine. I am not blind but I am very short and quite often I have to do that myself because ATM machines are designed for higher vehicles and people with longer arms. That was not an insulting question and sometimes it is good for people to be reminded that blind people still have the same needs as sighted people.
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  17. auhunter04 Says:

    (a)blind person sitting in back seat, or
    (b)only atm available or
    (c)it is easier to make the fronts all the same for all atms,
    (d)take you choice one, some or all the above
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  18. Andrew Sun Says:

    Passengers of course!!!!!!!!!Not just the driver!
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  19. myrtlemarie2001 Says:

    so the blilnd person still has some feeling of independence even though he has to be driven through the mac machine also they dont make different machines for drive through vs walk through they are all standard
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  20. Josh C Says:

    Because they don’t make ATM’s that are just for the street corners and then one specific kind of "braille-less" ATM for drive-thrus. They just come off of an assembly line.
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  21. monch75 Says:

    when they make the ATM machine, the distributor doesn’t know if it will go inside or outside of the bank. so it has Braille on all machines.( universal location)
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  22. mamadukes Says:

    Although blind people can’t drive, they are driven and still need to have access to money after hours like anyone else.
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  23. Ran C Says:

    for the blind who get lift
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  24. Candidily Says:

    i dont know ……….we do we drive PARKways and park in DRIVEways??? no one really knows nor will we ever find out.
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  25. Jason Y Says:

    For a blind passenger in the car I seen it done once even the driver pulled in backwards.
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  26. kivrin9 Says:

    I’m legally blind and I get a good chuckle over that one. The real answer is that it’s the same atm machine design wherever they put it. The logic behind it is that they could still use it, even if they were not the one driving the car.

    Funnier instances I have noticed are signs in print that say "we have braille menus". Dude, how is someone who needs a braille menu going to read that sign? Or braille signs over the tops of doors. Not making this up. Often, the braille in public places is misspelled, but I think my favorite consistency in braille signs in public places is the fact that it is always at EYE LEVEL. Think about that for a minute. Shouldnt it be down by the door handle, or something?
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  27. An observer Says:

    Braille is very useful for blind patrons of "walk-up" ATMs.

    It is more economical to standardize on a single configuration of machines for both walk-up and drive-up installations than to maintain separate inventories.
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  28. Jersey's Franchise Says:

    So the peppersprayed muggars can bank some profit too!!! That and so Jerks cant sue
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    The Democrats

  29. elfin420 Says:

    so a blind person can walk up and use it…..
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  30. aly Says:

    haha I don’t know…maybe in case a blind person is in the back seat the person driving can pull up further for that person to use the atm??? I don’t know why else it would be… good question
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  31. biscuitperifrank Says:

    So that referees can get cash
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  32. Addsrules Says:

    I understand where your coming from. I also understand that, so people are nearsighted or farsighted. So people may not be legally blind but have trouble seeing so they can learn to read Braille.
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  33. queenmilicent55 Says:

    ya know, this subject has puzzled me ,also – maybe the person is on foot . It does seem to resemble an oxymoron.
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  34. TC Says:

    I guess it’s cheaper for the manufacturers to just make all of the machines the same, particularly as the drive-through ATM’s are the minority of sites?
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  35. drewaf86 Says:

    I don’t know about your state, but most states it is law to have brail on all public ATM’s, I have never seen or heard of any blind people using a drive through ATM, but im sure if they did try and their was no brail then they would throw a fit and the state legislation does not want to hear about it, so they just make it a law to begin with.
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    I work at a bank and have asked the same thing to my brother, the ATM repair guy.

  36. Dovie Says:

    Actually, I gave this some thought one day while sitting at the bank. maybe the blind person is the passenger in the car and he/she wants to keep his/her banking information private, so they switch seats with the driver to enter their own information. I mean it’s either that or the bank is just trying to cover itself against claims of discrimination – or maybe it’s a law or regulation or something.
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  37. cay cay Says:

    i don’t think it was a silly question if you have never been blind you wouldn’t think like one. asked if you don’t know that’s the purpose of asking a question so you will known.
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  38. dragonwing Says:

    Now, the most obvious problem is one that nobody seems to get: sure, the blind person could conceivably walk up or be in the back seat – BUT THE INFORMATION CHANGING IS ON THE SCREEN! Even if there are braille letters/numbers on the sides of the screen, the blind person would not be able to read what is on the screen to give the proper response, anyway! And if the blind person is depending upon another person to read the information and still allow the blind person to respond, how would they know the person assisting them isn’t watching them key in the response, anyway?

    And I did get a kick about the "eye level" observation, too!
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  39. brunette_baby@sbcglobal.net Says:

    because this is America, also a pizza car gets to our house faster then an ambulence. :) its the truth!
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  40. bowhunter2006 Says:

    people that are blind read braile with their fingures instead of by mouth, just like walking, blind people use a guiding stick or sometimes a guide dog.
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  41. Lov'n IT! Says:

    Because blind people do go to drive thru ATMs.
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