Why Braille & Tactile Signs?
At Global Precision Signage we work with customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mainland Europe, Australia, and the Far East. Legislation regarding Braille & Tactile signs vary slightly but here is what they all share in common.
The foundation for the legislation is based on Universal Design Principles. (Produce buildings, products, and environments that are as accessible to people without disabilities as they are to people with disabilities.) Universal Design encompasses many facets of the design built environment but here we are going to focus on signs only.
In a nut shell, any permanent room in a public building should be indentified with both Raised Text (Tactile) and corresponding Braille. Shape, size, color contrast and many other elements of the signs are outlined by links in the country tab. The sign design has been conceived from well studied and tested principles.
Click on your specific country below for a brief overview of legislation and links for further reading.
Press logo's
for regulations.
ADA The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
(ADA) is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009.[3]
The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964,[4] which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Disability is defined by the ADA as "...a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity."
AODA Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
The purpose of this Act is to improve opportunities for persons with disabilities and to provide for their involvement in the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to their full participation in the life of the province.
DDA The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 ( United Kingdom )
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that faces many people with disabilities. It now gives people with disabilities rights in the areas of: employment education access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs and transport services buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for people with disabilities to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licences
DDA The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 ( Australia )
he Federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (D.D.A.) provides protection for everyone in Australia against discrimination based on disability. It encourages everyone to be involved in implementing the Act and to share in the overall benefits to the community and the economy that flow from participation by the widest range of people.
Disability discrimination happens when people with a disability are treated less fairly than people without a disability. Disability discrimination also occurs when people are treated less fairly because they are relatives, friends, carers, co-workers or associates of a person with a disability.
European Disability Strategy 2010-2020
The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 was adopted on 15 November 2010. Persons with disabilities have the right to participate fully and equally in society and economy. Denial of equal opportunities is a breach of human rights. Yet people with disabilities are poorer than other citizens of the EU, fewer of them have jobs, their opportunities to enjoy goods and services such as education, healthcare, transport, housing, and technology are more limited. The reason is the still existing discrimination as well as physical and attitudinal barriers. They affect one in six citizens of the EU around 80 million people.