Deaf Child street signs

[TheBombDiggity]

When I was still in high school, a family moved into a house down the street. Their daughter is deaf. Not long after, signs were posted on either end of the street. Something like "Deaf Child Area" I think.

In my ASL textbook from HS, there was a small article with arguments for and against using these signs. I'm inclined to lean towards not having them- a Deaf child isn't more likely to run into the street because they're Deaf. Being unable to hear doesn't make you stupid. If anything, there should be a sign warning that there are children at play, which would be true of the whole neighborhood. I talked to that little girl before, and saw her outside now and again, but she was never running around in the middle of the street. It was the hearing kids who would do it! My friend argues that those signs are necessary because they'll protect the child, since drivers seeing the sign would take more care. I don't think so- if someone's driving like a maniac, they're going to drive like a maniac whether or not they see a sign warning them of people in a residential area.

What do you think? Should areas around Deaf people be marked by signs like these? Or just children? Why or why not?
I'm not asking for a paper or anything, I'm just curious about real-life opinions

 

[dereksbicycles]

Basically, keep eye out for anyone that would run in street whether it is a cat or a kid. You don't see "Beware deaf cats at play", do you? I am rather mixed at having deaf kid sign. If you cannot watch for people or objects in street, you don't drive.

 

[caz12]

i agree with you...also telling world deaf child playing in area could put child at reisk of other things....i see these notice in car window baby on board,if drive properly should make no difference

 

[TheBombDiggity]

@dereksbicycles- Yeah, it's funny, the outdoor cats in the neighborhood are usually better about watching for cars than the kids are.

@caz- Have you noticed that a lot of people with those stupid signs on their cars actually drive really carelessly? And they're warning OTHER people they've got precious cargo!

 

[metalangel]

I thought the purpose of the signs was to tell emergency personnel to account for everyone in the car in the event of a serious accident, similar to the stickers you can get for your house window to tell firefighters that you have a cat or dog.

Or, as Marge Simpson said, "now people will stop intentionally ramming our car!"

 

[TheBombDiggity]

I guess I can see that, but the signs are put up about three houses away on either side. I don't see it being a problem in such close proximity to the house? But I don't know. I'm not an emergency responder.

 

[jbeer]

I thought the idea was to let people know that they couldn't rely on leaning on the horn to tell a kid in the road to get out of the way. They don't have them in our city anymore, but I have seen them in other towns on occasions.

 

[shimo]

I thought the idea was to let people know that they couldn't rely on leaning on the horn to tell a kid in the road to get out of the way. They don't have them in our city anymore, but I have seen them in other towns on occasions.

My, if all it took to get people out of the way was a horn, I would never have to stop for anyone.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I see so much as a pinky toe wag over the road, I put my foot on the brake and edge across the street at less than 10 miles per hour.

I also slow down around houses with kids toys in the front yard, or if it's around dismissal time for school, or if I think there may be kids or deer around. You have to get a license to drive but there is no brain requirement for walking on the street. :roll:

I'm not sure how I feel about "deaf child area" sign.
Kids with ADHD are reckless sometimes too, but I have never seen "ADHD child area". I've actually never seen a "blind child area" sign or "child with autism" sign either, but according to google, they may exist.

Maybe it is like the Amber Alert -- something bad happened to a deaf child, so now parents can request such a sign be put up to alert drivers, even if it being effective is debatable.


Joke:
Or maybe it's a crazy conspiracy to fuel the fear of hearing parents that think that the Deaf culture is trying to swoop up their kid and take them away to Eyeth, like a UFO abducting cows.
Their location is conveniently marked by those road signs.
A Deaf person might show up and teach deaf child ASL!


There are older threads covering a similar topic as this thread:
Against: http://www.alldeaf.com/general-chat/64686-deaf-child-road-signs-embarrassing.html
For: http://www.alldeaf.com/deaf-news/75738-mother-battling-deaf-daughters-safety.html