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Bowling Green Daily News
A card will soon be available to help deaf motorists and law enforcement communicate during traffic stops.
The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing teamed with Kentucky State Police to create the visor communication card. It contains pictures to represent basic requests, violations and roadside assistance questions used by police officers in routine traffic stops. The back of the card, meanwhile, contains instructions for how to effectively communicate with motorists who are deaf, oral deaf or hard of hearing.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will be asked keep the card in their car.
More than 200 motorists have applied for cards in just the first week of the program, and thousands more are expected, according to the commission.
“Communication is a facet of everyday life that we take for granted. For deaf and hard of hearing people, it’s a challenge,” said Virginia Moore, interim executive director of KCDHH. “For police officers, it is a challenge. So when these two groups come together, communication needs to be quick and effective. This card is not the answer to everything, but it gets communication started to help with something people encounter every day.”
Every trooper is also being issued a card, said Trooper Todd Holder, spokesman for the state police in Bowling Green.
“In my time at state police, I’ve probably come across 10 to 15 deaf motorists. Most of them have notepads and pens in the car and we’ve communicated by writing,” Holder said. “They’ve had ‘I am deaf’ written before I’ve gotten to their car. In my experience, deaf motorists are more prepared than the police.”
An officer probably comes across such a situation once a year, he said, but there can be major communication problems if the driver doesn’t have writing materials, Holder said. The cards will make things much easier to explain, he said.
“It will also help with people who don’t speak English,” he said. “The pictures will make it easier to communicate with the help of an interpreter.”
The card is a great idea, said Deputy Daniel Alexander, spokesman for the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office doesn’t have anything like it right now, and Alexander agreed with card could also be of assistance in communicating with drivers who do not speak English.
“It’s not something that comes up a lot, but it would be really good to have when it does,” he said.
For law enforcement, communicating with a deaf or hearing-impaired person poses the same difficulties as someone who does not speak English, said Officer Barry Pruitt, spokesman for the Bowling Green Police Department.
“One of worst problems is finding them (during) a burglar alarm,” Pruitt said.
“The officer is telling them to stay back, but the individual wants to get close to communicate that they’re deaf.”
— Drivers may apply for a card by filling out an online application at Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Home Page. Cards are limited to one per applicant, and the program is open to Kentucky residents only.
A card will soon be available to help deaf motorists and law enforcement communicate during traffic stops.
The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing teamed with Kentucky State Police to create the visor communication card. It contains pictures to represent basic requests, violations and roadside assistance questions used by police officers in routine traffic stops. The back of the card, meanwhile, contains instructions for how to effectively communicate with motorists who are deaf, oral deaf or hard of hearing.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will be asked keep the card in their car.
More than 200 motorists have applied for cards in just the first week of the program, and thousands more are expected, according to the commission.
“Communication is a facet of everyday life that we take for granted. For deaf and hard of hearing people, it’s a challenge,” said Virginia Moore, interim executive director of KCDHH. “For police officers, it is a challenge. So when these two groups come together, communication needs to be quick and effective. This card is not the answer to everything, but it gets communication started to help with something people encounter every day.”
Every trooper is also being issued a card, said Trooper Todd Holder, spokesman for the state police in Bowling Green.
“In my time at state police, I’ve probably come across 10 to 15 deaf motorists. Most of them have notepads and pens in the car and we’ve communicated by writing,” Holder said. “They’ve had ‘I am deaf’ written before I’ve gotten to their car. In my experience, deaf motorists are more prepared than the police.”
An officer probably comes across such a situation once a year, he said, but there can be major communication problems if the driver doesn’t have writing materials, Holder said. The cards will make things much easier to explain, he said.
“It will also help with people who don’t speak English,” he said. “The pictures will make it easier to communicate with the help of an interpreter.”
The card is a great idea, said Deputy Daniel Alexander, spokesman for the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office doesn’t have anything like it right now, and Alexander agreed with card could also be of assistance in communicating with drivers who do not speak English.
“It’s not something that comes up a lot, but it would be really good to have when it does,” he said.
For law enforcement, communicating with a deaf or hearing-impaired person poses the same difficulties as someone who does not speak English, said Officer Barry Pruitt, spokesman for the Bowling Green Police Department.
“One of worst problems is finding them (during) a burglar alarm,” Pruitt said.
“The officer is telling them to stay back, but the individual wants to get close to communicate that they’re deaf.”
— Drivers may apply for a card by filling out an online application at Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Home Page. Cards are limited to one per applicant, and the program is open to Kentucky residents only.
