Imagine driving home one evening after dark. It’s been a long day, you’re exhausted, and all you want to do is grab a bite and shed the worries of the day on your sofa in front of the TV. Suddenly, those dreaded red and blue lights appear in your rear-view mirror and, having no idea whether you’ve done anything wrong, you pull over onto the shoulder and kill the motor. A cop approaches your car, knocks on your window, shines a supernova-bright flashlight into your face and proceeds to question you. You’re temporarily blinded, nervous and frustrated, wondering why this is happening. You’re also deaf and have no idea what the cop is saying. You can’t lip-read if you can’t see his face, and you can’t hear his voice—there’s no way to understand what’s going on. Confusion ensues. Next thing you know, you’re being detained for suspicion of driving while under the influence simply because you’re driving deaf.
Or, imagine yourself behind the wheel, minding your own business, completely unaware of the ambulance or firetruck on your tail, siren blaring. Once you see the strobes, you’re immediately overcome with panic and humiliation as you quickly maneuver out of the way, allowing the emergency vehicle to speed past, hoping your deafness has not caused harm to anyone.
This is what it’s like to drive while deaf.
I originally began this blog five years ago in the hopes I could meet other people like myself—folks who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (HoH) and socially isolated, folks who don’t know sign language and have no friends or support systems to help them navigate their silent world. And while I failed in my attempt to meet deaf people—and subsequently changed directions with my blog—I’m still deaf and I still wrestle with this disability every moment of my life. I have a series of six essays here on my blog detailing my story if anyone is interested in learning what deafness is really like, and while writing those essays I attempted to portray honestly what it’s like to be deaf in a hearing world. It isn’t easy, and while I don’t want any sympathy, I hope for understanding among hearing folks, as well as acceptance and compassion. After all, we’re all in this together.
A couple of days ago, a kind gentleman named Mark Vanderbilt reached out to me through my blog and shared an article regarding driving while deaf. He granted me permission to reblog it here, so I’m providing this link to this most informative piece:
As for myself, I’ve been unable to drive for the past seven-and-a-half years due to peripheral neuropathy in my lower legs and feet, so I no longer own my old Ford Ranger 4×4 and no longer worry about this issue, but millions of other deaf and HoH people are still affected. Since then, I’ve become cognizant of advances in technology and common-sense approaches to assist and improve deaf drivers’ awareness in traffic situations that can vastly improve safety and protect the rights of deaf people behind the wheel. Many of these are mentioned in Mark’s article and may benefit anyone within the entire spectrum of deafness.
So, if you or anyone you know is deaf or hard-of-hearing, this article may shed some light on ways to help deaf people drive more safely. There’s help out there, and I appreciate Mark’s kindness in contacting me and sharing this valuable information.
