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http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/S...697302&path=!business!article&s=1037645507703
A state line, a federal regulation and a lifelong hearing impairment stand between Morris Townsend and a dream he has.
Townsend, 44, may be functionally deaf, but he has operated T&B Towing Inc. of Winston-Salem with Suzanne Bibb, his step-niece, partner and confidante, since July 2003.
The business offers him the independence treasured by many people with disabilities.
Townsend can drive his rollback trailer throughout North Carolina on one- to three-vehicle jobs involving towing and deliveries. The company handles emergency calls from several motor clubs.
He eventually wants to operate several multivehicle trailers, and to establish his own garage.
"I love my work, and I just want to be allowed to continue doing it and expanding it," Townsend said through Bibb's translation of his sign language. The burly Townsend, who has a salt-and-pepper beard, gets animated easily when discussing his dream, slapping his thighs with his signs for emphasis.
But the federal regulation prohibits Townsend from driving across a state line on a job that requires towing more than 10,000 pounds. The regulation was established in 1951 by the predecessor to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
"I've been working on cars since I was 14, and I just became hooked on them because cars are so much fun," Townsend said. As his skills at repairing automobiles grew, Townsend became a mechanic of choice in the local deaf community.
But there wasn't enough work to earn a dependable living, so he began T&B Towing.
"I feel like I was born to work on cars and born to help people with their car problems," Townsend said. "The bigger the challenge, the better."
Federal regulation 391.41, section 11, however, may represent the biggest challenge of Townsend's life.
The regulation states that anyone who wants a federal commercial driver's license must be able to hear a forced whispered voice from at least five feet away. The driver must not have an average hearing loss greater than 40 decibels in an auditory test. The driver also must have a medical card that certifies his hearing capabilities.
Townsend said that he hears some sounds at close range.
Without the commercial driver's license, he can't conduct in-state or interstate business exceeding 10,000 pounds in towage. Townsend estimated that not having a commercial driver's license has lowered the company's potential revenue by 40 percent a year.
The penalty for violating the regulation can be a $30 fine and a criminal citation. The driver is not able to operate the vehicle until he has the proper commercial driver's-license endorsement, according to Officer B.P. Gates of the N.C. Highway Patrol. A second violation could bring a $1,030 fine.
Townsend said he knows that the thought of a deaf man driving a heavy-duty trailer might make some motorists worry.
"But I can see an emergency vehicle's lights typically much sooner than a hearing driver," Townsend said. "What's the difference between myself and someone with their windows up and their music too loud? They're as likely to be caught by surprise by a sudden noise."
Townsend said that modern equipment and safety advances have made heavy-duty vehicles safer to drive since 1951, when the rule was implemented, and made drivers less dependent on hearing for proper use.
"We are not asking for exceptions to the rule or special treatments, but just for fairness and the right to be evaluated properly and honestly, and to be able to do my job wherever and whenever I can," he said.
Townsend has petitioned for a waiver that would allow him to be examined individually to prove that his deafness doesn't impair his effectiveness as a commercial driver. The petition is no less important for his partner Bibb, who is a single mother with a 12-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son.
Bibb said she also appreciates the job independence and said that working for T&B Towing is good for her self-esteem. Bibb even learned sign language to help Townsend communicate with motorists.
"I'm with Morris 95 percent of the time on the calls, and I know he is safer than most towing people because he strictly follows the guidelines and his knowledge of automobiles is amazing," Bibb said.
A local hearing expert said that Townsend could win an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit if he can prove that the regulation unnecessarily sets artificial barriers to gaining a commercial driver's license.
"This law has been on the books for a long time, and it may be an instance where it hasn't been challenged from a technological standpoint to see if safety advancements can remove the reason for the hearing barrier," said David Pillsbury, the director of hearing and speech at N.C. Baptist Hospital.
"People who are driving around with their music turned up full blast are functionally deaf when it comes to traffic or surrounding noise. It could definitely be a situation where (Townsend's) other senses help him overcome his deafness when it comes to doing his job safely."
Before becoming notified of the regulation by an N.C. Highway Patrol officer during a routine safety audit about a year ago, Townsend had driven safely as far north as Rhode Island on a dealership delivery of a Hummer. He also did several deliveries in the Southeast.
The only blemish on Townsend's driver's record is a failure-to-yield ticket, according to the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. Bibb said that Townsend was involved in an accident during a heavy rainstorm in April 2001.
A state line, a federal regulation and a lifelong hearing impairment stand between Morris Townsend and a dream he has.
Townsend, 44, may be functionally deaf, but he has operated T&B Towing Inc. of Winston-Salem with Suzanne Bibb, his step-niece, partner and confidante, since July 2003.
The business offers him the independence treasured by many people with disabilities.
Townsend can drive his rollback trailer throughout North Carolina on one- to three-vehicle jobs involving towing and deliveries. The company handles emergency calls from several motor clubs.
He eventually wants to operate several multivehicle trailers, and to establish his own garage.
"I love my work, and I just want to be allowed to continue doing it and expanding it," Townsend said through Bibb's translation of his sign language. The burly Townsend, who has a salt-and-pepper beard, gets animated easily when discussing his dream, slapping his thighs with his signs for emphasis.
But the federal regulation prohibits Townsend from driving across a state line on a job that requires towing more than 10,000 pounds. The regulation was established in 1951 by the predecessor to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
"I've been working on cars since I was 14, and I just became hooked on them because cars are so much fun," Townsend said. As his skills at repairing automobiles grew, Townsend became a mechanic of choice in the local deaf community.
But there wasn't enough work to earn a dependable living, so he began T&B Towing.
"I feel like I was born to work on cars and born to help people with their car problems," Townsend said. "The bigger the challenge, the better."
Federal regulation 391.41, section 11, however, may represent the biggest challenge of Townsend's life.
The regulation states that anyone who wants a federal commercial driver's license must be able to hear a forced whispered voice from at least five feet away. The driver must not have an average hearing loss greater than 40 decibels in an auditory test. The driver also must have a medical card that certifies his hearing capabilities.
Townsend said that he hears some sounds at close range.
Without the commercial driver's license, he can't conduct in-state or interstate business exceeding 10,000 pounds in towage. Townsend estimated that not having a commercial driver's license has lowered the company's potential revenue by 40 percent a year.
The penalty for violating the regulation can be a $30 fine and a criminal citation. The driver is not able to operate the vehicle until he has the proper commercial driver's-license endorsement, according to Officer B.P. Gates of the N.C. Highway Patrol. A second violation could bring a $1,030 fine.
Townsend said he knows that the thought of a deaf man driving a heavy-duty trailer might make some motorists worry.
"But I can see an emergency vehicle's lights typically much sooner than a hearing driver," Townsend said. "What's the difference between myself and someone with their windows up and their music too loud? They're as likely to be caught by surprise by a sudden noise."
Townsend said that modern equipment and safety advances have made heavy-duty vehicles safer to drive since 1951, when the rule was implemented, and made drivers less dependent on hearing for proper use.
"We are not asking for exceptions to the rule or special treatments, but just for fairness and the right to be evaluated properly and honestly, and to be able to do my job wherever and whenever I can," he said.
Townsend has petitioned for a waiver that would allow him to be examined individually to prove that his deafness doesn't impair his effectiveness as a commercial driver. The petition is no less important for his partner Bibb, who is a single mother with a 12-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son.
Bibb said she also appreciates the job independence and said that working for T&B Towing is good for her self-esteem. Bibb even learned sign language to help Townsend communicate with motorists.
"I'm with Morris 95 percent of the time on the calls, and I know he is safer than most towing people because he strictly follows the guidelines and his knowledge of automobiles is amazing," Bibb said.
A local hearing expert said that Townsend could win an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit if he can prove that the regulation unnecessarily sets artificial barriers to gaining a commercial driver's license.
"This law has been on the books for a long time, and it may be an instance where it hasn't been challenged from a technological standpoint to see if safety advancements can remove the reason for the hearing barrier," said David Pillsbury, the director of hearing and speech at N.C. Baptist Hospital.
"People who are driving around with their music turned up full blast are functionally deaf when it comes to traffic or surrounding noise. It could definitely be a situation where (Townsend's) other senses help him overcome his deafness when it comes to doing his job safely."
Before becoming notified of the regulation by an N.C. Highway Patrol officer during a routine safety audit about a year ago, Townsend had driven safely as far north as Rhode Island on a dealership delivery of a Hummer. He also did several deliveries in the Southeast.
The only blemish on Townsend's driver's record is a failure-to-yield ticket, according to the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. Bibb said that Townsend was involved in an accident during a heavy rainstorm in April 2001.