Question

In India, as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which of the following plans represent(s) tactile tile(s) for assisting mobility of visually impaired persons?

• A.

  

• B.

  

• C.

  

• D.

  

Hint:

Barrier free design recognises only two tactile patterns: a dot grid for warning/stopping, and parallel straight bars for guiding direction.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A, D

A visually impaired pedestrian reads the floor with a cane or the sole of a foot, not the eye, so tactile paving can only use shapes a foot can tell apart by touch: a field of separate bumps, or a line of ridges. Check each tile against this rule.

1. Option A (grid of dots): a person feels a cluster of raised bumps under the foot. This reads as "stop and check your surroundings", used at ramps, stairs, and crossings, so it is a genuine tactile warning tile.
2. Option B (diagonal hatch lines): the lines run at an angle, not along any direction of travel, so a cane cannot use them to walk straight. This pattern is not part of the barrier free tactile vocabulary.
3. Option C (grid of small squares): flat-edged squares in a 3 by 3 block read like a decorative paver joint, not a set of raised domes. It carries no tactile meaning under the 2016 Act rules.
4. Option D (parallel straight bars): the ridges run in one direction, so a foot or cane can slide along them and stay on the safe path. This is the guiding tile used on a continuous walkway.

Only the dot pattern and the straight bar pattern carry a defined tactile meaning under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 framework, so options A and D are correct.

Let's summarize:

• Warning tile = grid of raised dots, used at hazards and direction changes.
• Guiding tile = parallel straight bars, used along the walking path.
• Diagonal hatching and plain square grids are not recognised tactile patterns.

So the correct options are (A) and (D), that is, 1 and 4.