Deaf driver?

[kirch]

The other day I made a stop and found both the driver and passenger to be deaf. This surprised me, as I didn't think a deaf person could get a driver's license. But the driver presented a driver's license and it came back as valid.

I did a short search of our state statutes and could only come up with one the seemed to address this issue: 343.06(1)(f) The department shall not issue a license to any person who is required by this chapter to take an examination, unless such person takes and passes such examination. Deaf persons otherwise qualified under this chapter to receive a license shall be issued such license in the discretion of the secretary.

Does anyone else have any experience with deaf drivers? It would seem to me that being deaf could be a major disadvantage for a driver. Is it legal in your area?

Just curious, mostly.

[K9 Gunner]

What state are you in? In your post location you have America's Dairyland. That does not help much.

[kirch]

I'm in WI.

[Troop2256]

Legal here TN and I have had contact with a couple. I just get them out and we write back and forth on a legal pad to communicate. :)
It doesn't surprise me at all that a deaf person can get a license, they need to get where they are going just like everyone else. ;)
The only "disadvantage" I can see with a deaf driver is them not heaing an emergency vehicle siren, so it may take them a moment to respond to lights but I am more than happy to be patient in that case.

[TPO]

i've dealt with a couple of deaf people, but only had one traffic stop with a deaf person. the way my luck would have it, he had warrants and the passenger (also deaf) didn't have a license to drive. i went through half a notepad with them. i'd write my stuff down, give it to them and they'd respond. it took a while, but he went to jail and someone came to pick she and the car up. i let her read the exchange with him over the warrants, so she knew what was going on. saved me from having to explain it all over again.

it wasn't that bad. just have an extra notepad in the car.

[Springbok]

I had the very same experience when i hit the street, after training. Pulled a veh over for blowing a stop sign. Both driver and passenger were deaf. Driver produced all documents, and all were valid. I couldnt communicate with the guy, so i wrote down reason for a stop on a piece of paper, and he replied on the piece of paper. Ended up giving him a break, as i didnt want to write out the explanation when i served him the ticket.

they were both deaf, or both worthy of an Oscar. :P

[hounddog]

I have stopped several, perhaps four or five. I was lucky though, when I was in high school I dated a girl in college who was taking some sign courses. I used to help her study, and I picked up on some of it. I can at least tell them I am a police officer, ask for their driver card and vehicle paperwork.

On a side note, they are very afraid when they get stopped. They fear that we will take their hand motions for overt acts, and we will hurt them. In other words, take a little time and be a litte nicer or at least a little more understanding than usual, please.

[texaschickeee]

Ever hear of the American wWith Disablilty Act...(ADA)
its a federal law that states that if they can do what the requirements are, for job, lincences or what ever- they can not be denied it. Like above they have to get where they are going also.

[Shotwell]

Wow yeah thats a tough one. Watched another officer deal with a deaf person on a scene, but I havent had one on a traffic stop. I am in Ohio and will def look into that to see if we have code on it...

[H&KOne]

Another one here in TN who has dealt with the same thing as both the Driver and Passenger were death. What else can you do but to communicate with them by writing on your note pad? ;)

[Resq14]

Ever hear of the American wWith Disablilty Act...(ADA)

I hope you were being slightly sarcastic in your post.... to wit: the visually impaired (blind) can't drive... like you said, if you can be proficient in the requirements. I guess it all hinges on the definitions of what is necessary and what isn't. Personally, being able to hear things like a kid on a bike, a car horn, a train bell... yeah that is important.

And I've dealt with several hearing impaired drivers... never had a problem. I disagree with it, but it's not my call. There are some good ASL classes that focus on the big topics to cover with signing on police-related encounters. I've heard it can be an interesting class.

[DALE35907]

I'm a Deaf Driver from Alabama. It kind of caught me off guard to read that some police officers weren't aware that we deafies could legally drive!

There are actually few problems associated with "driving while deaf" except for the communication issues mentioned by some of y'all. Communication issues are easily solved by having a notepad handy!

Just a warning, though - some deafies will try to take advantage of this lack of communication hoping you'll just give up and let them go. Some may hand you a note saying you are required by law to provide an ASL interpreter while writing them a ticket - this is not strictly true unless your state requires this. During a traffic stop writing notes will do nicely, though if the whole mess goes to court an interpreter will be required - but the deaf person is required to provide adequate warning that a 'terp' is needed.

I for one would rather not see y'all giving deaf folks a 'break' just because we're deaf - we don't need special treatment, and it will only encourage some to ignore the law! Also, this can encourage 'hearies' to act deaf to get off on a ticket!

Overall it looks like y'all have handled your 'deaf encounters' pretty well and I'd like to thank you for wanting to improve your ability to handle these situations!

Dale R. Patterson
Owner - www.deafreedom.com

[SAPD_Rob]

What do you do if you pull over someone that is deaf and he shows signs of intoxication? I had that about a year ago. Thank goodness we had an officer who has a deaf child and translated for me. We bypassed the SFST because of risk of equaliberium problems. We just went with my observations on contact and the HGN. The guy blew a 1.5. He stated to my partner that he has been pulled over a few times before when he was drunk but knew that the officer's didn't want to bother with messing with him because he was deaf.

[NY Troop]

I worked in Rochester NY which has a large college with many deaf students, which meant I was stopping deaf students every so often. I found the traffic stops involving those students very strange. I would do the pass the pad of paper back and forth and most times end up trying to explain my reason for the stop and having the motorist wanting to argue. It usually ended up with STAY IN YOUR CAR I'LL BE RIGHT BACK. I had one woman with a 4 yoa kid bouncing up and down in the back seat while she was driving and she gave me a whole load of crap about the stop. I don't treat the deaf any different than other motorists. Everyone gets one.

[GGG]

The deaf drive like everyone else. They all ignore the lights and sirens, at least the deaf have a valid reason. :D No worse than the kids with 2000w stereos thumping so hard the deaf drivers can hear it.

I have had deaf drivers on stops, no problems, just used a note pad. I almost pulled a deaf couple over because they were argueing back and forth so much the driver was not paying attention to the road.

[SgtScott31]

I'm a Deaf Driver from Alabama. It kind of caught me off guard to read that some police officers weren't aware that we deafies could legally drive!

There are actually few problems associated with "driving while deaf" except for the communication issues mentioned by some of y'all. Communication issues are easily solved by having a notepad handy!

Just a warning, though - some deafies will try to take advantage of this lack of communication hoping you'll just give up and let them go. Some may hand you a note saying you are required by law to provide an ASL interpreter while writing them a ticket - this is not strictly true unless your state requires this. During a traffic stop writing notes will do nicely, though if the whole mess goes to court an interpreter will be required - but the deaf person is required to provide adequate warning that a 'terp' is needed.

I for one would rather not see y'all giving deaf folks a 'break' just because we're deaf - we don't need special treatment, and it will only encourage some to ignore the law! Also, this can encourage 'hearies' to act deaf to get off on a ticket!

Overall it looks like y'all have handled your 'deaf encounters' pretty well and I'd like to thank you for wanting to improve your ability to handle these situations!

Dale R. Patterson
Owner - www.deafreedom.com


Good information Dale. Thanks

[yessemi]

What???????????

[SgtScott31]

What???????????

lol


This post reminds me of one of my first traffic stops. The guy blew a stop sign and I started to question him as soon as he started to get out of his vehicle in a parking lot. He initially didn't respond (obviously) so I go into "a**hole mode" and get ready to ream this guy. He ended up being deaf and couldn't speak a word. I felt like shiite when he started writing words on a notepad. :D

[Taylor1430]

I'm a Deaf Driver from Alabama. It kind of caught me off guard to read that some police officers weren't aware that we deafies could legally drive!

There are actually few problems associated with "driving while deaf" except for the communication issues mentioned by some of y'all. Communication issues are easily solved by having a notepad handy!

Just a warning, though - some deafies will try to take advantage of this lack of communication hoping you'll just give up and let them go. Some may hand you a note saying you are required by law to provide an ASL interpreter while writing them a ticket - this is not strictly true unless your state requires this. During a traffic stop writing notes will do nicely, though if the whole mess goes to court an interpreter will be required - but the deaf person is required to provide adequate warning that a 'terp' is needed.

I for one would rather not see y'all giving deaf folks a 'break' just because we're deaf - we don't need special treatment, and it will only encourage some to ignore the law! Also, this can encourage 'hearies' to act deaf to get off on a ticket!

Overall it looks like y'all have handled your 'deaf encounters' pretty well and I'd like to thank you for wanting to improve your ability to handle these situations!

Dale R. Patterson
Owner - www.deafreedom.com


Dale, Glad to see you made it over this way (not sure if you remember me or not).

We have a few deaf people in our city...and I'm the only officer that knows any sign language. Fortunately, it has not come up too often but it does. Most of my sign comes from have a few deaf friends. I can communicate enough to get by on traffic stops and some calls for service.

[Wile E. Coyote]

With my luck I'd get the notepad handed back in Spanish. Here there are visor cards so that the driver can flip them down on a stop and the officer can readily know that the driver is deaf.

Are there any documented instances where gang members mistook someone's conversation as throwing down signs?

[SAPD_Rob]

With my luck I'd get the notepad handed back in Spanish. Here there are visor cards so that the driver can flip them down on a stop and the officer can readily know that the driver is deaf.

Are there any documented instances where gang members mistook someone's conversation as throwing down signs?
LMAO now that made me laugh!!!!

[Wile E. Coyote]

That was actually a real question. :) I've heard a few unsupported claims that a couple were shot in a McD's for just that, but just wondering if anything like that has actually happened.

Edit: Sorry, I was thinking that was at the last part of the post; I forgot I wrote the Spanish thing.

[mgshilling]

I am in Ohio and will def look into that to see if we have code on it...

Hearing impaired persons can drive in Ohio just like everyone else. All you have to do is pass the written and vision test. I don't remember taking a hearing test for my driving test. I'd fail the hearing test myself. Too much loud music (Thank you, Sony Walkman) and washing trucks in high school.

We have a newspaper guy in our area that is hearing impaired. A couple of us have pulled him over for stop sign violations (I'm seeing a pattern in this post) and lack of signalling.

Break out the notepad and pen. You'll get through it.

They probably drive better then the kids with the loud stereos. The hearing impaired are used to paying more attention with their eyes.

With my luck I'd get the notepad handed back in Spanish. ...
LMAO!! :-)

[DALE35907]

Perhaps one or two of y'all would like to address this guy here:

http://www.ridorlive.com/?p=2197#comments

Please note that this guy doesn't in any way, shape, or form speak for the deaf community at large, but he is a very vocal minority.

[3India]

I responded to Ridor. My daughter is Hard of Hearing and we use sign on a frequent basis to reinforce what we say. She wears hearing aids now but has a progressive hearing loss and may lose her hearing entirely as she grows up. We are active in the hearing as well as the deaf community. I cannot belive this Ridor guy is popular! Must be very local. I have never heard of him. Another "I hate the cops" guy, at least in that section of his blog (can't trust any bloggers IMO.

Dale good to see you on the forum!

[PhilipCal]

Thanks for the info Dale. Obviously, a deaf person can obtain an Alabama Driver's License. I've had occassion to stop some deaf motorists over the years, and the note pad option usually works. I cut slack, or gave breaks dependent on the person's attitude, nature of violation etc. The fact that he was deaf made no difference.

[WARWAGON]

I had one that I locked up for Poss of Stolen MV and Poss of stolen Tag.
He stole the truck in one state and tag in another.

He was complaining about the cuffs being too tight.
Since I don't sign, the only thing I could think of was the crying violin sign, like my heart bleeds.
You know the one where you pretend you are playing the violin.

He really got wound up then.

[pbragg]

I know this last post is about a year and a half old but for anybody intrested, some places will offer a Law Enforcement and Deaf course. Ohio University has it on their catalog but have not had any intrest shown in it in a few years. Some of the problem you can run into with the deaf especially older folks is sentence structure. Some structures are different than what the hearing uses. Younger folks are taught exact english so with them it shouldn't be a problem. The note pad obviously works most of the time but just beware that it may not ALWAYS work.

[Mstangfk]

my buddy had to work a TA involving a van full of Deaf persons from texas...what a PITA LOL

[t150vsuptpr]

Good Lord ... yes ... deaf drivers can get driver's licenses ... legally.

They likely are some of the better drivers too, which is why you rarely stop one.

They know they have a handicap and as with any creature suffering a handicap, they learn to compensate with the other senses. They become more observant, they take less for granted, and they sense vibrations that you never notice. You take for granted the sense of hearing, they don't.

As to communicating with them, I don't "sign" either (not so's you'ld know what I was trying to convey anyway), but a small tablet or a card and a few short notes have never failed me ...
... after all, they aren't new to it.

Sight is the one indispensable sense needed to safely drive a motor vehicle.

ps ... just realized I replied to a several years old thread ... :D

[JDCOP]

I have encoutered one deaf driver. The passenger could sign so I would have the passenger sign and also write on paper what I needed. They actually have a license plate in TN that has the letters TTY this is to inform someone they are hearing impaired. Yet to see anyone using it.