Mention the fact that I’m profoundly deaf and drive and some people’s immediate response is… “Deaf! Driving! Surely that’s not safe! You can’t hear stuff coming! No, sorry, but that should not be allowed.”
My automatic response is to roll my eyes and sigh. It’s not as if all hearing drivers can hear what’s going on around them.
How about the times I’ve pulled up at the side of a car that has music blaring out of open windows? How do I know about the music? I can feel the beat hitting my car and setting it vibrating. As if those guys can hear an ambulance coming up behind them!
But in a way I can understand the response. When I’m driving I need to be much more visually aware of the road than a hearing person to compensate for my lack of hearing. Many times, I’ve been nudged by members of my family to alert me of an emergency service vehicle approaching when it is nowhere in sight.
Obviously, when I am in the car on my own my response to the sirens of emergency vehicles and other traffic noises is much slower than an hearing person, but I think knowing this makes deaf people much more cautious in certain situations.
Another problem is communication with other passengers whilst driving. My older brother (who is also hard of hearing) prefers to drive in silence, ignoring all but the most persistent talk from passengers. On the other hand, I tend (according to my wife) to talk nonstop, preventing others getting a word in!
But in recent years I have attached a second rear view mirror to the dashboard so that I can lipread short comments (and I mean short) by someone sat at the side of me. So now, when I get in the car it’s become a habit for me to belt up, adjust the normal rear-view mirror, and then adjust the lip-reading mirror to the height of whoever is sitting at the side of me.
It can be very much hit and miss, lipreading and driving, and the main thing is that passengers are aware of what is happening. I can only ‘listen’ to their side of any conversation by taking my eyes off the road for a split second when traffic is very light/or in traffic jams and there are no hazards around.
Is this 100% safe? Possibly not, but I once noticed a couple in the car ahead using British Sign Language having a blazing row (well it seemed that way!) and the guy was driving at least 40mph on the Mancunian Way at the time!
With practise and with my wife working together with me (as a team) we do manage fairly well, My wife knows when she can talk because she is also observing the road with me. And she knows to look at the mirror when she speaks so I can see her lips.
Because the mirror is centred around were I am looking I am not taking my eyes off the road ahead…it is much like checking my normal mirrors or using a GPS for directions.
Funny moments are when a person who is not familiar with the system gets in the car and insists on speaking to me. They look at me when they talk, which means I see their face side on (much harder to lip-read) and I therefore tell them to look in the mirror when they speak.
They literally break out into a sweat trying to focus on speaking to the mirror… constantly turning to face me when they want to say something only for me to look steadfastly ahead, seeming to ignore them!
By the time they have worked it out I am dropping them off at their destination…
Mike is a semi-retired fine artist working from his home studio in Lancashire. As a profoundly deaf lip reader, he is just one of a large family with a genetic history of deafness. Mike attended a mainstream school before being transferred to a school for the deaf aged 11. He worked as a landscape gardener for thirty years and married Sara (who is hearing), then attended university as a mature student and gained a BA and MA in Fine Art. He is father to a son (hearing) and daughter (deaf on one side) and is currently preparing for cochlear implant surgery.
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Kevin
June 17, 2014
I’m proudly deaf and I been driving for 20 years onward. Visually it very important and aware what going on road. Pay attention to traffic as well. If they want talk or sign to me. Rule number 1 wait till car is stopped. You can’t do both and just same with mobile. Unless you got co driver watching the road and while doing rally racing and map reading, quick dereation and keep keen eyes on five O.
Co driver playing very important support role. It impossible to crash lol
Andy, not him, me
June 17, 2014
There’s an interesting fact that I discovered at one of those talks given by a member of the Fire Brigade. There is absolutely no legal right for an emergency vehicle to pass others on the road. It is just a convention that other drivers give way to emergency vehicles and the police turn a blind eye to things like speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road. It’s just because other drivers are kind enough to get out of the way.
So there is no right at all for them to get by and likewise you can’t get into trouble for holding them up. They may not be very pleased about it if you do hold them up but you cannot get into trouble for impeding them. Strictly speaking they are breaking the law and you are not!
I mention this because Deaf people do get in a panic about holding up emergency vehicles and some people get on a guilt trip if they accidentally get in the way. Don’t.
I spoke to a Fire Brigade driver who explained all this and I told him how Deaf people worry about getting in the way. He assured me that holding up a fire engine or ambulance for two or three minutes is not going to make much difference. Obviously if it is ten minutes or longer that will be different but just holding them up for a few moments is absolutely fine and they won’t mind a bit.
The sad fact is that they do have accidents, not many but it happens. If that is the case then the unfortunate driver has to face the full force of the law. There are no mitigating circumstances if an emergency vehicle jumps the lights and kills someone. The driver will probably never drive again if convicted. They all take that risk in the interests of getting the job done.
So if you do accidentally hold up an emergency vehicle don’t get in a tizzy about it, You have just become another hazard on the road that they must deal with and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Ramon Woolfe
June 17, 2014
How I long for taxi drivers who can communicate in BSL, but on the other hand – just imagine the lengthy conversation we would be engaged with on trips to destinations from stations, trying to get to destination on time! ( But also consider the benefit of many deaf people who may need to commute in taxis as they socialise in their community. I remember a deaf person who had usher asking me to walk with him to his ‘regular’ taxi who knew him and took him in – there wasn’t any conversation other than the thumbs up.)
You do not need to be more visually aware – it just comes naturally, a part of the ‘deafness’ package that we are privileged compared to other drivers who are plagued with the multiple sound blaring from every direction as they try to concentrate on their driving.
Now as a driver for over twenty years, I still bemoan with the assumption from other deaf people I meet in other countries – “How can you communicate with other deaf passengers especially when BSL needs two hands to finger spell?” – Gee, if you actually scrutinise BSL close enough, you will realise that we do often communicate with one hand while our less dominant hand may be busy such as opening that door, holding that Starbucks frappuccino or even holding hands with our closest ones? I’ll never forget the anguish that I had when hearing colleagues at a TV production company reacted to a footage that I had filmed of a Glaswegian deaf friend as he drove us through Edinburgh giving us an insight of the city yet no-one would bat an eyelid when Jeremy Clarke gestures in Top Gear! How many times have we come across people who handle their mobile phones or try to flick the everlasting crumble of ash at the end of their cigarettes or trying to apply their mascara while their vehicle is still in motion? The list is endless.
Although I’ll never forget how flushed I was when I had thought the cars in front of the T-junction were being generous as they gave way for me to manoeuvre only to be confronted with a flashing unmarked police car – the scornful expression of the police officers inside the car is something that has forever ingrained in me!
Julie
June 17, 2014
My deaf wife is taking her test tomorrow and during her time learning I have observed a vast array of idiotic behavior from other drivers when they see an ‘L’ plate. Deaf drivers are very far down my list of concerns when I’m out and about, in fact I’d suggest the fact that many hearing drivers rely on their unreliable hearing (cyclists don’t make any noise!) makes them far more dangerous.
Nathan
June 17, 2014
I am a profoundly deaf driver, having held a license for over 12 years. I genuinely think deaf people are better drivers because we actually look at the roads (never caused an accident yet!) Would be interesting to know if there is any official statistics on deaf vs hearing drivers!
madcapy
June 17, 2014
I remember a long time ago a Deaf person telling me that they noted by the colour of the sky if an emergency vehicle was coming towards them. The flashing blue lights reflected a blue/purple hue on the sky, that the average hearie would not notice. Of course if the colour of the sky was a similar shade then it probably wouldn’t be as noticeable. I guess this is more common on our typical miserable grey sky weather:-)
Mel
June 17, 2014
Be careful, if you have a mirror on the dashboard, you may not be covered by your insurance.
Martha Pittman
July 6, 2014
I am profoundly hard of hearing without my hearing aids I am deaf diagnosed at birth . I get a lot of negative feedback from hearing people about deaf drivers . I have been driving for over 20 years not a problem and the only time I wear my hearing aids while driving is when I am working . I work for a local school district and I drive a school bus . I have my cdl class b license . hearing drivers are distracted way more than us deaf drivers .