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http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2006/jul/24/state_program_provides_special_help_deaf_drivers/
Placard would identify deaf motorists to police before frustration begins
Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will soon have some help from the state when they are stopped by police.
The new program will provide safety communication visors for deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers. They will be able to put the visors in their car, to prevent communication problems when the drivers are stopped by police officers.
Rebecca Rosenthal, head of the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, says the idea is to prevent frustration from the driver or officer from escalating.
It’s an issue that occasionally leads to conflict between officers and deaf motorists they encounter. A Graham County man is suing the Kansas Highway Patrol, claiming he was physically mistreated by a trooper who grew upset with his noncompliance in an encounter on the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia.
Christopher E. Zvolanek, who is legally deaf, claims in his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that on Dec. 15, 2004, he tried to report aggressive driving by three cattle trucks to a turnpike toll collector. He claims he asked for a pen and paper to write down his complaint, but the collector denied his request and called a trooper, who arrested him.
Zvolanek, who is represented by the Lawrence firm Stevens & Brand, alleges that under the state’s policies, the deaf are “treated as criminals instead of disabled or handicapped persons.”
The defendants’ version, however, is that Zvolanek refused to pay his toll, and that he never requested reasonable accommodations.
For years, the state has been providing deaf drivers with 4-by-4-inch stickers to place on the back of their vehicle, but Rosenthal said some were concerned about their privacy and safety. The new, reflective, 11-inch-long signs can be tucked in the driver’s side visor and either flipped down or displayed in a window during a traffic stop — although the agency is warning drivers not to put them under the seat or in the glove compartment.
Drivers must complete an official form before they can receive a sign.
Placard would identify deaf motorists to police before frustration begins
Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will soon have some help from the state when they are stopped by police.
The new program will provide safety communication visors for deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers. They will be able to put the visors in their car, to prevent communication problems when the drivers are stopped by police officers.
Rebecca Rosenthal, head of the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, says the idea is to prevent frustration from the driver or officer from escalating.
It’s an issue that occasionally leads to conflict between officers and deaf motorists they encounter. A Graham County man is suing the Kansas Highway Patrol, claiming he was physically mistreated by a trooper who grew upset with his noncompliance in an encounter on the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia.
Christopher E. Zvolanek, who is legally deaf, claims in his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that on Dec. 15, 2004, he tried to report aggressive driving by three cattle trucks to a turnpike toll collector. He claims he asked for a pen and paper to write down his complaint, but the collector denied his request and called a trooper, who arrested him.
Zvolanek, who is represented by the Lawrence firm Stevens & Brand, alleges that under the state’s policies, the deaf are “treated as criminals instead of disabled or handicapped persons.”
The defendants’ version, however, is that Zvolanek refused to pay his toll, and that he never requested reasonable accommodations.
For years, the state has been providing deaf drivers with 4-by-4-inch stickers to place on the back of their vehicle, but Rosenthal said some were concerned about their privacy and safety. The new, reflective, 11-inch-long signs can be tucked in the driver’s side visor and either flipped down or displayed in a window during a traffic stop — although the agency is warning drivers not to put them under the seat or in the glove compartment.
Drivers must complete an official form before they can receive a sign.