T. 6-23-93 (b)(6) JUN 28 1993 Ms. Gail Barmoy Safe Watch 301 Mariner Drive Tarpon Springs, Florida 34689 Dear Ms. Barmoy: Attorney General Reno has asked me to respond to your recent letter extending your congratulations on her appointment and recommending an amendment to the Department's regulation implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I am sure that you understand that it is not possible for the Attorney General to respond personally to all of the letters that she receives. However, Attorney General Reno wants you to know that she appreciates your taking the time to write to express your good wishes. Your letter recommends that the Department of Justice amend its regulation implementing title III of the ADA to require the provision of devices (such as the "DoorScope" that you manufacture) that will enable people with disabilities to make a visual identification of visitors in places of transient lodging, such as hotels or motels. Rulemaking authority under title III (public services) and title II (public accommodations) of the ADA is divided between the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) and the Department of Justice. The ADA requires the Access Board to develop the minimum guidelines and requirements for accessible design that will apply to the new construction or alteration of buildings and facilities that are subject to the ADA. The Department of Justice is required to adopt enforceable standards that are consistent with the guidelines published by the Access Board. Pursuant to these requirements, the Department has adopted the Standards for Accessible Design, which are published as Appendix A to the Department's regulation implementing title III. The Standards were originally published by the Access Board as the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. The Department would on its own initiative only make changes to the Standards that are cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Blizard, McDowney FOIA, Friedlander n:\udd\blizard\control\barmoy 01-02428 - 2 - consistent with the Access Board's Guidelines. If the Access Board amends its Guidelines, the Department would then amend the Standards to make them consistent with the Guidelines. We note, from your letter, that you have already been in contact with the Access Board. Any follow-up you may wish to pursue with regard to that agency's conduct of an additional rulemaking procedure on this issue should be addressed to: The Honorable Kathleen K. Parker Chairperson U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 1331 F Street, N.W., Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20004-1111 I hope that this information is helpful to you. Sincerely, James P. Turner Acting Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division 01-02429 MERLE & GAIL BARMOY 301 Mariner Drive, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 SAFEWATCH March 15, 1993 Janet Reno, Esq. Attorney General of the United States 10th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D. C. 20004 RE: ADA Dear Attorney General Reno: CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!! We wish to extend our very best to you as you begin another phase of public service. We applaud your integrity and have confidence that with the Lord's help, you will continue to have high standards and will be an outstanding Attorney General. Because the Justice Department has jurisdiction over ADA compliance we are writing you to let you know of our concern and experience regarding the ADA's lack of provision. We are wearing two (2) different hats as we write to you. The ADA law affects us, as well as many others. First, XX . We travel often and as we stay in various motels and stay in rooms designated for the handicapped, we find most rooms ill-prepared for the wheelchair bound guest as far as providing viable visibility for the guest of visitors to the room. Sometimes there is the traditional "peephole" placed at eye level for the standing guest and sometimes there is the same type of "Peephole" placed at wheelchair eye level (the view from here is the abdominal area of the visitor!). Because they are typically only 1/2" in diameter and more times than not they give only a limited and distorted view, plus from a wheelchair, they are practically useless, we feel the ADA law should make provision for a device that will enable the disabled guest to see much more clearly who their visitor is. This could also be placed at eye level for those in a standing position in all the disabled rooms for the safety and convenience of all disabled guests. 01-02430 Attorney General Reno - 2 - March 15, 1993 Our second hat is related to our business. We have been selling and installing for over two years a product called "DoorScope". We are pleased to enclose a Product Information sheet and a color brochure for your review. When the ADA was made law, we were excited because we knew our product would bean answer for the disabled in a variety of applications. As we reviewed the law, however, we were extremely disappointed to find no provision made for visual identification in terms of specific law or guideline. In our experience calling on the hotel/motel industry, we contin- ually hear that because there is no specific requirement, there is no impetus to spend dollars not required by law. Obviously, this is a short-term perspective and though it will save owners some current dollar outlay, the safety and well-being of the guests appears not to be a consideration for those hotel/motel owner. We have written to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. We appreciate their role of input to facilitate the ADA in its efforts to provide equal access and convenience as well as providing guidelines and recommendations for ensuring the safety of the disabled. We understand a specific product can't be recommended. We are most interested in having provision made that will mandate providing visual identification guidelines which will result in the safety of the disabled. We do not mean to limit the application of safe visual identification only to the hotel/motel industry. We appreciate your consideration in this matter. Sincerely, SAFE WATCH GEB:gb Enclosures: 01-02431 MERLE & GAIL BARMOY 301 Mariner Drive, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 (813) 934-8708 SAFE WATCH P R 0 D U C T I N F 0 R M A T I 0 N The DOORSCOPE is a newly patented safety and security device that renders the conventional door viewer obsolete. A person using the DOORSCOPE can actually stand at a distance of up to seven (7) feet from inside the door and acquire a true image of the visitor waiting outside. Children and the handicapped are able to benefit from the DOORSCOPE in that a person can be 12 to 15 inches below or on either side of the product and still see the outside. For added, security, the visitor is unable to look through the DOORSCOPE to see inside. Safe Watch is unaware of any product that might compete with the DOORSCOPE with the exception of a video surveillance camera at many times the price of the DOORSCOPE. Safe Watch in Tarpon Springs has distribution rights making the product available to those states east of the Mississippi. GP Visions of Orange California has been awarded the distribution rights making the product available to those states west of the Mississippi. The characteristic that differentiates the DOORSCOPE from other door viewing devices is that the DOORSCOPE utilizes a real "prism" image (less than 5% to 7% concave), thereby projecting a true image to the user. Due to the clarity provided by his method, even elderly and visually impaired can more accurately identify visitors by allowing the use of both eyes. The DOORSCOPE has been fire rated by a Warnock Hersey International report. During the first quarter of 1991, Warnock Hersey conducted a 60 minute fire test. The DOORSCOPE successfully passed this test and is not the only door viewer on the market with this rating. The DOORSCOPE is WHI authorized for use in wood doors with the following ratings: 1/3 hr. 3/4 hr., and 1 hr. as tested to ASTM E-152, CAN 4-S104 (ULC-S104), NFP252, UBC 43-2 and UL-10(b) Fire Door Test Standards. The DOORSCOPE is manufactured incorporating the latest technology in advanced optics. In a series of two prisms and two plano-convex lenses the DOORSCOPE provides a super-wide angle of view, producing 132 degrees of horizontal visibility. The product is available in ABS- Resin plastic silver aluminum or a bronze anodized unit. The DOORSCOPE is easy to install. The tools necessary to install the DOORSCOPE are a standard power drill and a 2-3/8" hole saw and 1/8" drill bit. The average time required for first time installation is approximately ten (10) minutes. The product is sold with easy to follow instructions for installation in either solid wood, hollow-core or metal doors. 01-02432