Miss-Delectable
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Deaf man obtains licence - Fiji Times Online
A DEAF and mute 30-year-old man has become the first in the Northern Division to obtain a driving licence after successfully passing his driving test, using sign language.
The achievement by Shiu Karan has baffled Land Transport Authority examiners in the northern town of Labasa who are still trying to understand how a deaf man manages to change gear on time.
An overjoyed Mr Karan only nodded his head when asked through sign language whether he was happy about his achievement.
LTA examiner Rakesh Jattan said while testing his driving skills during his driving test, he was amazed to see how Mr Karan perfectly timed changing the gears.
"Drivers usually change gears by hearing the sound of the engine, when it tires out but for this case, I am still trying to understand how he does it when he is deaf," Mr Jattan said.
"We only communicated through sign language and he just caught on very well which was also seen during his driving test," Mr Jattan said.
"He knew all the road signs and read all the road maps like junctions, bends and road humps very well by answering questions put to him using sign language," he said.
The sign language was done with the assistance of the driving instructor, Shakuntla Singh who is also a teacher at the Labasa Handicapped School.
Mrs Singh said it was not difficult teaching Mr Karan how to drive.
"I believe it was not difficult for me because he had the interest to learn and so he caught on very well without going over the lessons again," Mrs Singh said.
"It took us three weeks to complete the driving lessons and now he has a licence and we are just so proud of him," Mr Singh said.
A DEAF and mute 30-year-old man has become the first in the Northern Division to obtain a driving licence after successfully passing his driving test, using sign language.
The achievement by Shiu Karan has baffled Land Transport Authority examiners in the northern town of Labasa who are still trying to understand how a deaf man manages to change gear on time.
An overjoyed Mr Karan only nodded his head when asked through sign language whether he was happy about his achievement.
LTA examiner Rakesh Jattan said while testing his driving skills during his driving test, he was amazed to see how Mr Karan perfectly timed changing the gears.
"Drivers usually change gears by hearing the sound of the engine, when it tires out but for this case, I am still trying to understand how he does it when he is deaf," Mr Jattan said.
"We only communicated through sign language and he just caught on very well which was also seen during his driving test," Mr Jattan said.
"He knew all the road signs and read all the road maps like junctions, bends and road humps very well by answering questions put to him using sign language," he said.
The sign language was done with the assistance of the driving instructor, Shakuntla Singh who is also a teacher at the Labasa Handicapped School.
Mrs Singh said it was not difficult teaching Mr Karan how to drive.
"I believe it was not difficult for me because he had the interest to learn and so he caught on very well without going over the lessons again," Mrs Singh said.
"It took us three weeks to complete the driving lessons and now he has a licence and we are just so proud of him," Mr Singh said.
