Deaf driving

[TazManc]

Oh my goodness... I bet that was frightening! Did the police even give the woman a sobriety test?

Some hearing people use headphones/MP3 players/talk on the phone while driving, or listen to music so loud they wouldn't be able to hear any traffic related sounds anyway, so I don't understand how it can be rationalized that hearing impairment affects a person's ability to drive safely. ???

My opinion is that being deaf or HoH actually makes you more aware visually on the roads. I know some of the biggest idiotic drivers that have no hearing problems at all.
I mean what does sound actually do to assist your driving anyway If someone is beeping at you then you did something wrong regardless.

 

[Tousi]

Oh my goodness... I bet that was frightening! Did the police even give the woman a sobriety test?

Some hearing people use headphones/MP3 players/talk on the phone while driving, or listen to music so loud they wouldn't be able to hear any traffic related sounds anyway, so I don't understand how it can be rationalized that hearing impairment affects a person's ability to drive safely. ???

Isn't your last sentence a contradiction?

Anyway, years ago, Judge Sherman Finesilver, from Colorado, I think, said: "Hearing nor the lack of it is a basis of safe driving."

 

[stealingmay]

My opinion is that being deaf or HoH actually makes you more aware visually on the roads. I know some of the biggest idiotic drivers that have no hearing problems at all.
I mean what does sound actually do to assist your driving anyway If someone is beeping at you then you did something wrong regardless.

I agree... some people pay attention and some don't. I can't see how hearing or not makes a difference. Driving safely just depends on the individual. Not to mention, in my opinion when people beep it's usually because they're in a rush or just being rude... nothing to do with safety.

 

[stealingmay]

Isn't your last sentence a contradiction?

Anyway, years ago, Judge Sherman Finesilver, from Colorado, I think, said: "Hearing nor the lack of it is a basis of safe driving."

My point was that it wouldn't be fair to assume that a deaf or hard of hearing person was any less capable of driving safely than a hearing person, considering that many hearing people don't rely on sound to drive anyway. Ultimately, I don't see how hearing is related to a person's success in safe driving.

 

[SimplyKiddo]

My HOH/deaf uncles don't have a license because they don't believe they can get one. I argue with one of them on this but they just smile at me. But man, can one of them drive and back up a car like a pro.

 

[JClarke]

My HOH/deaf uncles don't have a license because they don't believe they can get one. I argue with one of them on this but they just smile at me. But man, can one of them drive and back up a car like a pro.

What?

Can you drive? if so, show 'em!

 

[SimplyKiddo]

What?

Can you drive? if so, show 'em!

I live very far from them and they live with my grandparents but I do tell them that they should at least try to get one. I think they offer interpreters for that but the problem is that the ASL they learned long ago when they immigrated here has been forgotten so I'm not sure how that would work.

 

[RonJaxon]

I read your post and did a little searching and like you I didn't find to much. So I contacted my friend Simon who is deaf and know a lot about deaf culture. He's even written books and gives lectures. So I asked him if he had any knowledge on this.

He said to do to this link and check the various countries.
WFD : National Members

He also share this from his personal experience (The man travels the world):

I heard that deaf individuals in Japan and India requested for a court to decide the permission for them to get the driver's license in order to drive last year. 30 or 40 yrs ago I heard deaf individuals in Taiwan were not allowed to drive cars but could be permitted to enter a military service against Communist China! However, today some deaf individuals in the developing countries couldn't afford to buy cars so they could not be permitted to drive. In 1980s I rented a car in Vienna, Austria for a couple of days and met a police officer on a sidewalk for asking a question about the parking meter. He was surprised I was permitted to drive a car because I couldn't hear. I told him in German that there were million deaf and hoh drivers in the U.S. When I drove my rental car out of the parking space, the officer was worried about how I could drive without hearing! ha ha... Of course, in 1910s and 1920s american deaf drivers had a hard time with the laws. I met a 93 yr old deaf man in Michigan in 1980s who said he was one of the first deaf drivers in his state. However, he was required to have a chaperone sitting with him in his T-Ford car all the time!

Hope that helps.

Ron

 

[Belinda Dill]

Hello,

I am a researcher at The University of Nottingham, UK, and am also a BSL signer. I've read on many forums that 26 countries still have a problem with deaf drivers, but I can't find out which countries these are. We are planning to conduct some driving experiments (in a simulator and a real car equiped with cameras) to show that deaf drivers are just as safe (or safer) than hearing drivers, but to write the proposal, I need to know some more about the 'stats'. If anyone knows where I can find out which countries do not allow deaf drivers, it would be a great help.

Many thanks!
Kat.

I read your post and did a little searching and like you I didn't find to much. So I contacted my friend Simon who is deaf and know a lot about deaf culture. He's even written books and gives lectures. So I asked him if he had any knowledge on this.

He said to do to this link and check the various countries.
WFD : National Members

He also share this from his personal experience (The man travels the world):



Hope that helps.

Ron

wow ron! that was interesting!!!

 

[Belinda Dill]

driving

And...... lot of hearing people around me kept telling me i m not supposed to drive because of i am deaf at long ago.
i did improved them wrong!!! LOL they were amazed at me as well im good driver!

 

[Lighthouse77]

The other week, a public school speech therapy actually asked me if I drive. wow, a speech therapy. She really thought my husband does all the driving.