[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctoWHANfDyA]YouTube - Japanese Deaf People Are Not Allowed To Drive - MyDeafLife.com (BSL)[/ame]
BSL ( not ASL)
In Japan, deaf people are not permitted to drive cars. A Japanese law, the Road Traffic Law, says that people must be able to hear—a 90-decibel sound from 10 meters—to get a drivers license.
Japanese deaf people have asked that the law be changed.
We need cars in our private lives and for our jobs. We would like to take part in society, said an official of the Japan Federation of the Deaf.
A survey of other countries—the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Australia—showed these countries give deaf and hearing people the same driving rights.
The survey also showed that 80 to 90 percent of information required for driving is obtained visually. This survey is proof of what deaf people all over the world have always known—that deaf people use their eyes for their hearing, noted Mike Walton, an American deaf teen who will get his license soon.
Why arent deaf people allowed to get a license in Japan? They can understand the movement of speeding vehicles by looking at other cars, said Yutaka Osugi, a top secretary of the federation.
Japan has agreed to study the issue and will make a decision next year.
