Letter to President Mills from Deaf Person

Dear His Excellency President John Evans Mills,

I would like to express dismay at the forms of

discrimination that persons with hearing disability (deaf people) are

continuously refused granting driving licence by Driver and Vehicle Licencing

Authourity (DVLA). As deaf tax payer, I was refused a licence by the authourity

to learn driving because of my hearing disability and realised that the staff

still discriminated against the deaf people applying for ones. There are many

deaf people who have their vehicles in Ghana but face enormous challenges when

they applied at the office. Under the Disability Law- Persons With Disability

Act 715, 2006, Section 27, a person with a hearing disability has right to own

a driving licence after passing driving test and satisfying the conditions.

His Excellency, according to the law, Section 4 (1), the

persons with any type of disabilities should not be discriminated by the

governmental agencies and may not be neglected when they seek for their needs.

Under the Disability law, Section 7- Access to the Public

Services, the public agencies should grant the requests the persons with

hearing disability look for.

In the pursuance of the United Nations' Convention on the

Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 29, Ghanaian governmental agencies

shall guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the

opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others.

As one of the staff of DVLA Office was aware I am deaf and

could not talk, he asked if I could read and write and we wrote note each

other. He said that my hearing examination may be required to submit medical

report so that it would let him see if I could hear the levels of sound with

aid of hearing aids before granting the request after I had showed to the

Section of the Act 715, 2006 that a person with hearing disability is allowed

to own driving licence.

I told there are many deaf drivers in Africa who could drive

on road and see carefully emergency sirens and horns on basis of rearing

view-mirrors without hearing any sound and have very good views rather than

hearing sounds when driving on the roads.

According to World Federation of Deaf (WFD), there are no

known reports that deaf drivers are a threat to other road users in the

countries where deaf people are allowed to obtain a driving licence, or that

they are involved in more traffic accidents or injuries than the general

population. The deaf drivers are better than hearing ones based on respecting

the road safety regulations and viewing at rear-mirrors fully on the roads.

There are some deaf drivers in Africa who could drive without any traffic

accident.

All but 26 countries in the world have allowed people who

are deaf to drive as long as they pass the test regardless of the degree of

hearing loss. It should not be an impediment for the deaf people to enjoy the

right of driving which is a civic of free movement guaranteed by Disability

Act. It is not a problem for the deaf people to learn how to drive. They can

learn to drive through visual instructions – hand motions, eye contact and

visual aids. There are many deaf drivers in world that could drive on road and

see carefully emergency sirens and horns on basis of rearing view-mirrors

without hearing any sound and have very good views rather than hearing sounds

when driving on the roads.

Deaf people are

capable of becoming good drivers because they drive safely. Though their sense

of hearing is impaired or non-functional, yet their other senses and reactions

are naturally trained to be extremely acute which is an advantage over the

hearing drivers and, therefore, it is logical to allow them to have legalized

driver’s licence.

Road accidents among the hearing people have been common

even though they can hear and pass the test to get driving licence. Therefore,

there is difference between them and deaf people who are still driving without

any tangible report of accidents with or without licence.

When deaf people drive, they enjoy a basic privilege they

deserve just like anyone else. It also demonstrates that deafness does not have

to hinder the quality of life.

If deaf people are allowed to drive, it could decrease

prejudice by changing the public’s misconceptions about deaf drivers. In turn,

decreased prejudices could help eliminate discrimination against deaf drivers

in public policy.

The disqualification for driving licence does not rest with

the deaf people themselves, but with the environmental and attitudinal barriers

of the society and those that govern the system. The same holds true where the

deaf people are concerned who is a part of the human diversity as a natural

process and also as recognized by the UNO. Although the deaf people are

disqualified for holding licence due to poor and congested Ghanaian road

conditions, yet the situation can be adjusted with special provisions through

legal adaptations, additional rear view mirrors, special signal

stickers/labels, public awareness, ban on non-motorized and slow moving stray

vehicles from the main and busy roads that are the distinct features created in

the rest of the world facilitating an accessible environment for the deaf

people to drive safely and smoothly and obtaining driver’s licence. Driving

cars is not a problem for the deaf people who can drive judiciously, smoothly

and safely with the brain instead of the ears.

Disability to hear and unsafe road conditions don’t justify

disqualification from obtaining licence that contradicts justice and atrophy

the concept of accessibility, empowerment and independent life. Legal

adaptations and improving road conditions are the way out to enable them to

qualify for retaining the civic and legal right of driving.

The “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities” states that national and state governments are obliged to consult

with people with disabilities through their representative organizations when

developing and implementing legislation and policies to effectuate their

rights.

His Excellency, therefore, I would like to inform you that

your order should be given to DVLA to grant the deaf drivers licence and they should

be encouraged to show respect to the persons with hearing disability. If the

officials still discriminate against them, they would be forced to face sanction.

His Excellency, I am appealing to you to order DVLA to recruit

and employ any interpreter at DLVA so the deaf drivers could get comfortable

when they read interpretations and even the signal sticker/ label should be

shown with “Deaf Driver (DD)” or “Handicapped (H)” on front transparent glass

of all vehicles, etc so police would have to understand the DD or H symbol when

emergency is met. There is no problem for DD or H sticker.

Johnson

Dei-Kusi

Person with

Hearing Disability

Ledzokuku-Krowor

Municipal Association of the Deaf (LEKMAD)

Teshie-Nungua,

Accra

deafjohnson@in.com