What difficulties do deaf peolpe have when driving an automobile?

Question

What difficulties do deaf peolpe have when driving an automobile?

Answer 1

Hearing the radio. Or trains.

Answer 2

Can't hear horns, or sirens.  Nor can they hear anything if they hit something light enough to where they couldn't feel it. Can't hear the radio, flats, noise comming from the car that may cause a serious problem.

Answer 3

Some auto dealers refuse to let deaf people test-drive a car, claiming that it’s too risky.

In fact, deaf drivers have a better overall safety record than their hearing counterparts do.

Since driving is primarily a visual activity, deaf drivers often excel. Nonetheless, hey have faced various forms of discrimination for nearly a century.

Charging deaf people more for insurance is an old injustice, but nowadays, deaf drivers aren’t necessarily charged more because they’re deaf.

As for licensing, deaf people take the same tests hearing drivers do. They may be required to have a wide-angle rear-view mirror. In Illinois, they can have an optional "J88" code added to their license, for the benefit of highway police.

But some folks have the odd notion that deaf people can’t drive cars, and are surprised to learn that they assuredly can, and perhaps more surprised to learn that they’re good at it.

Answer 4

The same difficulties idiot teenagers have when driving around with the stereo full blast or a pair of earphones on playing the IPOD........ I dont hear well (not deaf) but dont hear sirens unless they are real close. I put a bigger Mirror on my windsheild. I also put one of those concave mirrors on my passneger side so I can see better..... This reduces the chance of hitting someone I cant see - How?  Lets say I am cutting someone off thats in my blind spot - most people will honk the horns to let me know they are there but I sometimes dont hear them..... The extra mirrors make it safer for me to make certain types of lane changes....

Answer 5

Hello everyone, my name is Robin.  For the record, I am a profoundly deaf female.  People are still amazed to find out that deaf people drive!

It is true that, just as a blind person's senses of hearing and touch are increased, my sight sense is increased.  I rely totally on my sight when I drive.  I scan my mirrors constantly.  When I approach an intersection, I quickly scan the intersection for approaching vehicles and I especially scan for emergency vehicles.  I've gotten so good at this, I can do it in a nano-second and without slowing down.  

Another poster said that deaf drivers are generally safer drivers because of fewer distractions.  This is true, and insurance statistics prove it.  I can't hear, so I'm not distracted by the radio, the cel phone, etc.  I have to focus 100% on my driving and quite frankly, I don't understand how hearing people can drive with all of that.  If you do ride with me, be prepared for a very quiet ride because I can't converse* while driving.  So if you're riding with me and you want to read, blast the stereo, talk on your cel phone, do it to your heart's content.  I don't mind.

*I can talk (although my speech is impaired) and I can lip-read, also called speech-read.  And of course I use ASL.  However, I can't do either when I drive.

Answer 6

I think deaf people are far better drivers overall anyway. Driving is extremely visual, and deaf people are far more attentive visually. Most hearing people rely on hearing instead of sight which doesn't make sense if your radio is cranked up and you are on the cell phone.

Answer 7

I don't have any problems.

I was born deaf. I have a little hearing (about 20%) and I can hear a few sounds but I can't rely on that. I wear hearing aids.

It has been proven that deaf drivers are safer drivers. The reason for that is deaf people are MUCH more visually aware of what is going on around them. Have you ever heard the saying "you lose one sense, you gain another"? It's true. Not in the actual sense but other senses become more attuned...more sensitive. It's called compensation. Sight and feeling are the two that are most sensitive...the two that deaf people rely on the most.

I actually CAN hear sirens and horns (both vehicle and train). In fact, since I don't have a radio or cell phone to distract me, I probably hear them before "normal" people do. Besides, in my opinon, a person who drives with a blasting stereo is most likely "deafer" than me...that person can't hear anything except for the music. How are they going to hear a siren?

Everytime I hear music like that, I cringe. Think about it...if it's loud to ME, it has to be impossibly loud for a person with normal hearing. Geez. The radio in my truck? It gets used by my family.

Finally, when it comes to any kind of emergency vehicle, I often see the lights more easily than "normals". Like I said, I'm more visually aware. I know I need to look for these things and be prepared to act appropriately. My license states that I'm deaf. I'm required to have outside mirrors on both sides of the vehicle and also have concave mirrors.

I never had any problem driving an ambulance either. The only accomodation I had to make was to wear a shoulder microphone to better hear the radio (not the music radio, of course).

EMT

Let me add that I'm not completely dead but profoundly hearing impaired...I have about 20% of "normal" hearing. I'm a speaking deaf person...I can speak rather well thanks to intensive speech therapy. I do not use sign language.

I can hear a few sounds but I don't really depend on that...since I can't really rely on that.