CHENNAI: Can the deaf or those who are hard of hearing be allowed to drive a vehicle? Can they be issued a licence?
While the Union ministry of road transport and highways, in its letter to all state governments in 2016, quotedtheAIIMS conclusion ‘Driving is primarily a visual function with little inputs from hearing,’ state transport authorities see it as a road risk.
The Centre insists authorities consider the driving licence applications of the hearing impaired and says if a person has been rehabilitated with hearing aids and can hear reasonably, there is little reason to prevent them from driving.
In TamilNadu ,to get a licence a hearing impaired person must get an audiometry test and if they can hear at least 60 decibels with the hearing aid they are qualified to get one.
However, some people who wear hearing aids and certified fit by a doctor said they have been denied a learner’s licence.
A few months ago, Naveen Raj Louis of Ayyapanthangal approached the Regional Transport Office in his area to get an application and was reprimanded by an official for ‘wanting to drive despite having hearing impairment’. “I have a two-wheeler that I bought to go to work. But without a license it’s useless,” he said. Naveen said his friend, also a hearing impaired person, was turned away too. “One has to be watchful. That’s why there are rear view mirrors. Let us to take a test at least,” he said.
In another incident, Santhana Mohan, who is hard of hearing, had to keep following up to renew his licence. “It took me morethan a year to get a new one. The official first denied but then I had to convince him that though I have been driving for more than 20 years, not once was I involved in any accident. Finally he relented,” he said.
Vidya Menon, a trainer at v-Sesh, an organisation that works for the welfare of the disabled, had a licence when she was in Australia but when she came here she was denied it despite her hearing ability of more than 60 decibels.
Spatial awareness and indicators through mirrors are more important, because while hearing aids can help pick up audio signals like horns and sirens for a few, for others it may amplify the background noise and hinder their concentration, she said. “Many tend to drive while talking on the phone or hearing loud music. But we won’t,” she said.
The World Federation for the Deaf says studies have revealed that deaf drivers have been involved in fewer car accidents than the average driver. “Hearing is not a necessary sense for driving a car and denying deaf people driving licence deprives them of the mobility that gives them access to essential services, social opportunities and life in general,” it concluded.
Officials are sceptical. “There are many aspects that need to be considered. We do we abide by rules and if an applicant is found fit to drive on our roads, they are not denied a license,” said another official from the RTO Chennai southwest.