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Driving with any disability can be a challenge. Driving while deaf is no exception. Not being able to hear the sounds of your vehicle, traffic, or nearby hazards can put you at significant risk. But don’t think for a second that a disability can stop you from driving safely! Deaf drivers can be just as good at driving as hearing drivers.
Can You Drive if You’re Deaf?
Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to drive if you are deaf. As long as you follow the rules of the road and disclose your disability to your Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or your state’s equivalent agency, you may be legally permitted to drive.
That’s because many state and local governments recognize that deaf drivers are not inherently risky drivers. It is legal for deaf drivers to drive in all 50 states in the United States. However, there are a few things that you’ll need to do before the DMV will let you get a driver license.
For starters, you’ll need to disclose your disability to the DMV. If you attempt to apply for a driver license without informing the DMV that you’re deaf, you risk being prosecuted for falsifying information pertaining to your application. Not only can that result in your license being revoked, it can also result in you being sent to jail.
You’ll also need to prove to the DMV that your good vision enables you to compensate for a lack of hearing. This typically involves providing a statement from a doctor that says you’re fit to drive, but other requirements might be imposed. To find out all you have to do to get a driver’s license as a deaf person, contact a traffic ticket attorney on the WinIt app today.
What Challenges Might You Face as a Deaf Driver?
Some of the challenges you might face as a deaf driver are no different than the challenges you face as a deaf person. People might judge you for your disability, say hurtful things, or treat you poorly. But there are also other challenges that can arise once you step behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
The most obvious challenge is that you won’t be able to hear the sounds of traffic. For example, hearing drivers are able to hear police sirens long before they see the flashing lights. This might not be as relevant in the daytime as it is in the nighttime, but it means you’ll have significantly less time to react to emergency vehicles when their lights are hard to see.
Hearing drivers can also hear when their car is malfunctioning. A common example of this is when a person’s car needs an oil change. The engine’s normal hum will have a bit more of a grind to it. That and other engine issues will be harder for a deaf driver to notice.
That issue can typically be mitigated by paying attention to the vibration of your vehicle. Just like a hearing driver could listen for specific noises, you could feel for specific vibrations while you drive.
Other issues arise when you get pulled over by police, when other drivers are trying to verbally signal to you, and so on. Learning to read lips is a great way to reduce the difficulty of communicating with hearing people, since so few hearing people know sign language.
Do You Have To Wear Hearing Aids While Driving?
No, you do not have to wear hearing aids while driving. That’s true even if you normally wear hearing aids in your daily life. In other words, you can drive in complete and utter silence if you’d like, just as long as you still follow the rules of the road and drive safely.
Being able to hear is not a requirement of being able to drive—it just makes it easier. If a hearing aid will help you to hear, you might as well wear it while driving. It will give you a bit of help when it comes to noticing oncoming traffic blocked by obstacles, police sirens, and more. But, if a hearing aid won’t help you, you have nothing to worry about legally by not wearing it.
6 Tips To Drive Safely as a Deaf Person
Deaf drivers can drive just as safely as hearing drivers. The trick is to stay educated. Knowing the best safe driving tips for people in your community is one of the most important parts of driving safely. Here are six tips aimed at helping you do just that.
1. Have a Good Teacher
The best teachers of any subject are able to adapt their teaching methods to fit the needs of their students. When it comes to driver’s education, that means being able to teach students how to drive without needing to rely on their ability to hear.
The right teacher can make a world of difference. Taking a driver’s education course taught by a member of the deaf community is a wonderful way to learn safe driving practices as a deaf driver. After all, nobody knows how to drive safely as a deaf driver better than a deaf driving safety instructor.
2. Be Alert
Whether you’re hearing, death, or anywhere in between that spectrum, you should always be alert. Whenever behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, being alert is the most important thing. That’s right! This is even more important than actually knowing how to drive.
Think about it: only a tiny fraction of accidents occur as a result of a driver not knowing how to drive. However, a lack of alertness (also known as “distracted driving”) causes hundreds of thousands of accidents every year.
To stay alert, make sure to keep your eyes on the road. If it’s dark or visibility is otherwise reduced, it’s okay to slow down. Safety comes first. And make sure never to drive while texting, fidgeting with a GPS, or moving things around in the back seat. That’s a surefire way to get a ticket.
3. Buy the Right Technology
There are quite a few new technologies being introduced to help deaf drivers drive more safely. In 2019, Hyundai started developing what experts called the intersection between audio-visual conversion (AVC) and audio-tactile conversion (ATC). This technology, powered by AI, uses advanced hardware and software solutions to turn sounds into visual or physical signals.
AVC serves to turn sounds into visual signals, like blinking lights or icons in a head-up display (HUD). Think of it like an even more in-depth version of your Check Engine light. Just like that light lights up when your engine is malfunctioning, the AVC would light up icons on your HUD whenever your vehicle detected certain sounds. In other words, your vehicle would be listening for the sounds that you couldn’t hear.
ATC does a similar thing with touch. “Tactile” stimuli are touch-based signals. Most commonly, these signals are sent through the steering wheel. One example of this would be the ATC hardware detecting a police siren and telling the software to cause the steering wheel to vibrate. You’d then know to look around to find out where that siren is coming from.
When AVC and ATC technologies are combined, the functionality becomes even better. Together, these innovations achieve more than just the sum of their constituent parts. They provide a singular experience for deaf drivers. The problem is that these driving safety solutions can cost an arm and a leg.
4. Carefully Map Out Your Routes
Before you get in the car, take the time to select a route that minimizes your reliance on sound. If you’ve been fully deaf your whole life, it can be difficult to know which route that is. This takes us back to step one: ask your teacher. You can also ask your friends and family members which routes require the most attention to sound.
Once you’ve identified the routes that seem to be the most difficult, start looking for other alternative routes. For example, instead of taking the highway from point A to point B, consider taking back roads. It might take a little longer, but it’s more likely to keep you safe from unheard hazards.
5. Be Prepared in Case You Get Pulled Over
If you get pulled over, you can safely bet that the police officer pulling you over has no knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL), let alone any other sign language. In that case, you’ll need to know how to react to keep the police officer from thinking you are just noncompliant or disorderly.
The first thing you’ll need to do is demonstrate to the police officer that you are deaf. If you have a disability card, you might want to carry it in your wallet. But don’t reach for your wallet without informing the police officer. Sudden hand movements (even those you use for communication via ASL) can cause officers to think you’re a threat.
6. Know What To Do and Who To Contact if Your Car Breaks Down
If your car breaks down, you’ll need to be able to contact somebody with whom you can communicate. If you have a hearing friend or family member who knows ASL, you could text them and ask that they come out and help you get in touch with a towing company.
In other cases, your car insurance provider (or similar roadside assistance provider) might have a TTY line that you can contact to be put in touch with agents who are trained to help drivers like you in similar situations.
