Signing while driving - how does it work?

entwisted

entwisted

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Hello, I think this week will be my first time getting into a car with a driver who will likely be Deaf and will be signing, as well as a few other folks who will be signing, since we're all going on a trip together for the weekend. However, I can't imagine how a driver can have a signed conversation with the passengers while driving a car. Is this possible at all? Is it dangerous? Should I just abstain from conversation in the car altogether, since it's kind of disrespectful to the driver who would not be able to participate in the conversation?

Thanks for your help :aw:
 
People sign and drive - here's a Utube clip - CODA brothers- ASL w/voiceover
 
I sign and drive. Been doing it for 15 years...zero accidents. However, I dont get into deep conversations while driving.
 
I don't even like to lip read while I drive, but sometimes it can't be avoided if you are with someone.

I have a light that plugs into the lighter outlet which allows a soft glow to illuminate the person next to me(overhead light is too bright). It can be helpful if you need to look at someone while driving to either read lips or sign.

Honestly though, it's a lot safer to drive in silence.
 
It helps a lot to skew the mirror so you can watch the person's lips, but not take your eyes off the road that much. I might just install a second mirror! :lol:
 
I have an oversized rearview mirror in all of our vehicles so we can carry on a conversation with the folks in the backseat.

It is EASY to talk with another Deaf person while driving but it is HARD to talk to a HEARING person as lipreading requires a LOT of focus.
 
so you are worried? lets me see if I can calm you down --- we been signing pretty much all our lives and it hasnt changed. When we all had to learn how to drive - we had to figure out ways how to communicate when learningg to drive. That is no fun when learning to drive, high tension from parents, trying to listen to what they trying to tell us , etc.

fast forward a few years or so- have you heard of any accidents of deaf being killed when having a conversation? You could say, we deaf/hoh have figured this out by then. Now - unless you already know ASL - then you will feel like you are in a cage with a bunch of monkeys making sounds, acting like curious george book , very inquisitive and never gets hurt physically.

My advice to you -- just like any driver in the world in a car riding as a passenger, its natural to feel vulnerable since the steering wheel and brakes are not in your control and go along with the flow. nervous yet :D:shock: nahhhh -- you shouldnt be -- I understand you asking question here as its all new to you and its a unexplored territory for you - so just lay back and enjoy the show. :cool2:
 
radioman said:
fast forward a few years or so- have you heard of any accidents of deaf being killed when having a conversation?
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Don't be naive. I've had several friends die in a car accident. One was most likely chatting.

Chanda Smith, RIP.
 
I've always made the comment to any hearing person riding with me in my car...that I can't talk to them as I need to keep my eyes on the road.....and if I'm unsure while driving to where I should turn off...I tell them to tap me on the shoulder....as for other deafies riding with me...they can converse all they want to, but I don't join in....
 
Same what Shel said, .. Just surface converation. However I rather be focusing on the road becuase other drivers are unpredictable! This weekend i will be driving with my girlfriends, so i usually tell them that i ll focus on the roads. that is it.
 
If the car is turbocharged, then don't ask the driver to sign to you. They'll be too busy showing off their turbo powered engine. If it's not turbocharged, maybe try to sneak in a conversation or 2. Have fun!!
 
Okay, thanks for the info, everyone. I do sign and was planning not to use my voice at all during the trip as it makes it easier to talk to Deaf people and it gives me a chance to improve my own ASL skills. I'll make sure to keep it short, then, if I do try to communicate, unless there is something set up in the car which makes it visually easier for the driver to keep track of people signing and to watch the road at the same time.
 
entwisted said:
Okay, thanks for the info, everyone. I do sign and was planning not to use my voice at all during the trip as it makes it easier to talk to Deaf people and it gives me a chance to improve my own ASL skills. I'll make sure to keep it short, then, if I do try to communicate, unless there is something set up in the car which makes it visually easier for the driver to keep track of people signing and to watch the road at the same time.
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I think you'll do just fine. If you are the front passenger, you can make it easier on the driver by leaning slightly forward to sign so that way the driver can also see you in his/her pheriphal vision while the driver focus on the road at the same time.

Signing and Driving has became like a 2nd nature to me. Although, whenever I feel that the road needs undivided attention, I always tell the passenger to wait a moment to pause the conversation. Yes, I know, the road always require undivided attention. When there are curves, hills, heavy traffic, changing lanes, weather conditions, or whatever else - That's when I don't converse.
 
We so easily forget that cars are basically loaded and deadly weapons.
I get pissed at hearing people who talk on cell phones whilst driving but sometimes I am guilty of lip reading or signing while driving.

I really don't think any conversation I could have in a car is more important than the lives of the people in my car and the cars around me. Maybe when we think outside our cars we will see how fragile lives are and how easily a conversation can end a life.

Just because you haven't been in a wreck yet doesn't mean you aren't a danger to yourself or others.

If you get pissed when you see people texting while driving but you think it is your right to sign while driving then you are sadly lulled into some sort of comfort that because you are deaf you will obviously see dangers and be able to react in time.

Every car is a loaded weapon. Operating a vehicle deserves the respect that is supposed to be given to guns.

I've seen patients who were distracted drivers who got in wrecks. I've had to tell young men that their text that was too important to wait cost the lives of their best friends while they only had a broken femur.
 
I think it would be different from person to person. I wouldn't carry on conversation in the car if I am driving. I am a very nervous person in the car though. Been in a serious accident when I was 18 (I wasnt driving). Since then, I am a very couscous driver. Cars scare me!
 
It is called distracted driving. I have ridden with lots of deaf who sign and drive. Have followed deaf who are signing while driving and seen the swerving cars. You can drive for 15 years and have no problem, same as you can drive drunk accident free for 15 years. It is the law of averages. Someday it will catch up with you
 
Police forum discuss about sign and drive

Why isn't it illegal to use sign language while driving?
Why isn't it illegal to use sign language while driving?

I was driving behind another vehicle yesterday that kept swerving into the other lane and braking unexpectedly. I assumed it was a drunk driver, until I saw hands flailing wildly, and realized that the driver was having a conversation in sign language with the passenger. When the driver was signing, neither of her hands were on the wheel, and when the driver was watching the passenger sign, the driver's eyes weren't on the road for extended periods of time.

In some states, it's illegal to talk on a cell phone because it takes away from concentration and forces the driver to use only one hand to drive. And in most states, it's illegal to text and drive because the driver's eyes are off of the road for several seconds when they're texting. So why isn't using sign language while driving illegal, too? I'd feel safer in a car being driven by a 16 year-old talking on the phone than I would feel driving in a car with a deaf person whose eyes aren't even on the road... that's like letting Hellen Keller drive a car... it's ridiculous! Any thoughts?
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To be honest, in 28 years of police work, I don't think I came across more than 3 or 4 deaf people and none who were driving a car at the time. Laws are passed to deal with problems we see quite a bit, deaf people causing wrecks is pretty rare to say the least. Not minimizing your concerns, but public outcry gets action and there isn't any on this, really.
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I do miss the long deep conversations while driving a long period of time. I'm definitely a talker but not anymore. It's really hard to drive while it's dark and watch a passenger sign. If there is three of us in the car, I drive so the others can talk.
 
You guys are talking about having other people in the car and stuff. The only other people I have in MY vehicles are my wife and kids. I used to give my employees rides daily in the past but they now have their own vehicles so I tell them to drive themselves. It's pretty much just my wife and kids. My conversations with them are no different from any other hearing person and their families. It is not like I am partying in the car. Most Deaffies are no different.
 
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