How do Deaf people drive?

Kuifje75 said:
What is the difference between a deaf person driving, or a hearing person driving in a car with the music cranked up so loud that he cannot hear anything outside the car?
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Exactly!!! good one there Kuifje75
 
I use my eyes a lot to compensate for lack of hearing what's going on around the vehicles.

I observe the behaviors of the vehicles around mine. For example, I see vehicles pulling to the right or stopping on a green light could be an indicator of either a police, or fire, or ambulance with full siren and lights on nearby.

If people honk at me, screw them.

Richard
 
There's a difference??? I'm not thinking about the Deaf improving the quality of driving with special devices, but what about using devices to improve the quality of access to information on the road???

Bjcomix, interesting thought about devices that alert of certain noises on the street. I would want to know where the noises come from, though, and what they are. I think it is very important to contact for help if you're out of gas or stuck in nowhere. I have an emergency number I can SMS with my cellphone. How to communicate with police or other people in tense situations? ;)

My inlaws used their experience on the road as a standard to judge my driving with; they rely on their hearing a lot and cannot fathom the idea of not being able to rely on hearing. There are probably existing hardships for them. While I can understand that, they also have to understand that I have adapted to drive with other senses. People have to allow for that instead of using rigid, prejudiced standards. I have driven since I was 15.8 years old.

I have driven in very dangerous conditions (snow, wind and zero visibility in the mountains) earlier this Feb where my inlaws wouldn't have dared to go. I made the 6 hour trip alone there and back in one piece. Inlaws never questioned my driving ability after that again.

Kuifje, I hope I didn't scare you too much with my driving when you were here ;)
 
bjcomix said:
Jolie_77 - that was really helpful. Thanks. Do you know of any devices inside the car that light up when a car horn honks or an ambulance is coming from behind? I'm working on a project now that seems to be headed in this direction.
thanks!
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To answer your question; To my knowledge, I have not seen a device that has a "light-up" or a warning light to let the deaf drivers be aware of when an emergency vehicle comes from the behind or whenever a car has it's horn on. There probably has been one that had already been patented but it doesn't hurt to check it out. I wish you the luck on your project and hopefully it will be a helpful device for the safety on the road. It could also be an advantage to the hearing drivers as well for whenever they are too "lax" on the road by not realizing they are engaging in a conversation on a cell phone or with a fellow passenger. Any insights would be made worthwhile in the long run.
 
I always rely on keeping my eyes on the road and watch how the other cars act.

For example, If I see cars pulling over to the right or stopping I'll assume that either a firetruck or an ambluance is behind me. I'll slow down or stop and check my rear view window and my right side to check for it.

Honking isn't always useful as some hearing can't tell the direction where the sound is coming from.

I've had a hearing person back up into me despite me honking the horn. She said thought the horn was down the road instead of behind her.
 
Kuifje75 said:
LOL nah you didn't scare me... but... with a motorboat, NOW, that's a different story! LOL
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HA HA HA I must admit, you are a GOOD swimmer as well! hihi sorry, couldn't resist that either... ;)
 
Nesmuth said:
I use my eyes a lot to compensate for lack of hearing what's going on around the vehicles.

I observe the behaviors of the vehicles around mine. For example, I see vehicles pulling to the right or stopping on a green light could be an indicator of either a police, or fire, or ambulance with full siren and lights on nearby.

If people honk at me, screw them.

Richard
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Same goes for me too!

There were times that I have honked at people for not moving when the light turned green but then 1 minute later, an ambulance or fire truck goes racing thru the intersection. That hit me hard cuz what if I was the first driver in line? Would I have gone as soon as the light turned green and gotten hit by the emergency vehicle? That is a question that I dont want to be answered so it was a lesson to be learned. After a few of those incidents, I got myself into the habit of looking from left to right to make sure there are no emergency vehicles nor runaway speeders barraling down the street before hitting the gas to cross the intersection. I think it is also a good habit for everyone including hearing people because 2 of my friends were killed by a drunk driver running through the intersection even though the light was red on that person's side of the road.

Driving is a huge responsibility for both deaf and hearing people..use whatever senses we have to keep ourselves safe. I have been driving for almost 20 years and have only been in 1 fender bender and it was someone else hitting me from the rear.
 
Im hoh and when I drive, I rarely use my ears but use my eyes to look around me at all times. When ambulance and firetrucks are coming, occasionally I can hear them but can't locate where its from. If the cars in front of me or on other side of street move over to the side then I know emergency cars are coming so I move over too.
 
The idea that people use hearing to help them drive is unthinkable to me. I can hear sirens only when they're like 10 feet behind me so I watch other cars.
 
bjcomix said:
Do you know of any devices inside the car that light up when a car horn honks or an ambulance is coming from behind?
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Get a cat. When someone honks, it'll go berzerk and you'll know when to procede with caution. :) :)
 
deafskeptic said:
The idea that people use hearing to help them drive is unthinkable to me. I can hear sirens only when they're like 10 feet behind me so I watch other cars.
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Er...oh they often do use their hearing especially for being alert to sirens and such. My wife is hearing and I can't count the times she has told me that there is a siren going off somewhere while we were driving (I can hear it but it has to be fairly close). I agree that driving for the most part doesn't require much in the way of hearing but there are many instances where it can and does save the day.

I have a friend who recently told me this story. He very HOH and just got a CI a couple of months ago. He said that both he and his wife were taking own their cars to go somewhere. She (who is hearing) backed up first and was waiting in the street for him to come out and go first. He backed up and didn't realize exactly where she was and ran right into her. She did the "natural" thing honked the horn but he, of course, heard nothing. He had thought that she left already which is why he didn't pay attention to the mirrors. Most people with hearing would have heard the horn honking and stopped to figure out what was going on.
 
When i first met my girlfriend, i had been around many other deaf people and I asked her one day "whats the silliest thing anyone has ever asked your about being deaf" and she said "my GOD! you have no clue how many people ask me how or if i can drive and if i use the braile at the atm" i laughed so hard.

I think its so odd that people ask this. Id say that a bit of a majority of hearing people have their minds so focused on something else that their hearing actually becomes a distraction. Either listening to music or yapping on the cell phone, heck even both at the same time.

I know that I most certainly depend on visual cues more so than I do hearing, I am usually so tuned into NPR that I notice a cop or any sort of other emergency by use of mirrors and visual cues far before i would notice it by hearing it.

Silly but true, I much rather be on a road full of deaf drivers that are actually focused on what the are supposed to be focused on ,when they arent using their SK to text ; o) than a road full of hearing drivers who are sometimes so distracted by what they hear that they go crazy.

I know for me its so confusing on the road when a bunch of people hear an ambulance, so some pull over, some go faster, some slow down, everything gets sort of erratic. And so you find your self trying to react to the other drivers more than you are trying to get out of the way of the ambulance.
 
bjcomix said:
Hi-

This might sound silly, but how Does a Deaf person drive differently from a hearing person? How do Deaf people know if an ambulance or fire truck is coming from behind? How do Deaf people sign while driving? How about at night? I'm hearing, obviously, and I'm curious. Also, are there any devices Deaf people use to help them? I think some people use large rearview mirrors, but I don't know of anything else.
I'm a design student, trying to come up with some ideas for a project. I'd appreciate your thoughts.
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Magic.

Lemme ask you a question in return, how do hearing people have sex?
 
Gemtun said:
Last week, a cop was behing me on a motorcyle with his siren on. I thought he was asking ME to pull over. I pulled over but realized that he wanted the driver in a huge white SUV with California license plates in the lane next to me. So that was who he pulled over.
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But that's not a deaf or hearing issue, is it? It's happened to me a couple of times that I thought a cop wanted me to pull over, but it had nothing to do with whether or not I could hear his siren. It was always the lights that caught my attention, and I figured out what he wanted from the direction he was looking, not a megaphone or whatever it is they use.

shel90 said:
After a few of those incidents, I got myself into the habit of looking from left to right to make sure there are no emergency vehicles nor runaway speeders barraling down the street before hitting the gas to cross the intersection. I think it is also a good habit for everyone including hearing people because 2 of my friends were killed by a drunk driver running through the intersection even though the light was red on that person's side of the road.
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I completely agree. I do this as well because of emergency vehicles, as you mention, and also because people drive horribly in my area and go racing through intersections long after the light has turned red. I also look both ways before I start, I agree this isn't a deaf or hearing issue either.

I TRY to remember to drive with my window cracked so that I can both hear and see emergency vehicles (I drive with my radio on but not cranked) but unfortunately when stopped at intersections in questionable areas at night I don't feel safe with my window down at all.
 
Hey! I just start learning how to drive. I need a best advice anything about Deaf Driver or anything else.
 
sr171soars said:
Er...oh they often do use their hearing especially for being alert to sirens and such. My wife is hearing and I can't count the times she has told me that there is a siren going off somewhere while we were driving (I can hear it but it has to be fairly close). I agree that driving for the most part doesn't require much in the way of hearing but there are many instances where it can and does save the day.

I have a friend who recently told me this story. He very HOH and just got a CI a couple of months ago. He said that both he and his wife were taking own their cars to go somewhere. She (who is hearing) backed up first and was waiting in the street for him to come out and go first. He backed up and didn't realize exactly where she was and ran right into her. She did the "natural" thing honked the horn but he, of course, heard nothing. He had thought that she left already which is why he didn't pay attention to the mirrors. Most people with hearing would have heard the horn honking and stopped to figure out what was going on.
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Didn't he look behind him or check the rearview mirror? I'm pretty anal about such things when backing up.

Also it hasn't prevented some hearing lady from backing up into me when I honked the horn at her.
 
deafskeptic said:
Didn't he look behind him or check the rearview mirror? I'm pretty anal about such things when backing up.

Also it hasn't prevented some hearing lady from backing up into me when I honked the horn at her.
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You would think so...I did kid him about it. I myself would never forget to double check what is going on around me especially when I'm driving. Insurance is not cheap you know!

I would agree some hearing people forget what their hearing is for... I think it is the fact that some people can't chew gum and walk at the same time. :laugh2:
 
Anyone here have a manual gear stick?

In the UK I learned to drive using a manual gear stick as virtually every car then was manual and that was something that a hearing person would use their hearing for, knowing when to change the gears. However I went by feeling the car. You can teach yourself to feel when the car needs to change gear. I have an automatic now though :)
 
R2D2 said:
Anyone here have a manual gear stick?

In the UK I learned to drive using a manual gear stick as virtually every car then was manual and that was something that a hearing person would use their hearing for, knowing when to change the gears. However I went by feeling the car. You can teach yourself to feel when the car needs to change gear. I have an automatic now though :)
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:raises hand:

I can't drive with an automatic transmission daily or I'd fall asleep at the wheel! It's cumbersome and boring.
 
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