Hollywood Actress Raises Awareness Over Deaf Driver–Police Incidents

Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin has been featured in a newly released video highlighting the sometimes tragic results of incidents between police and deaf drivers.

A "Know Your Rights" video featuring Marlee Matlin is part of a new public education effort launched in the United States aimed at ensuring that deaf and hard of hearing motorists know their rights when interacting with the police on US roads.
Matlin, who is deaf herself, explains how those with hearing loss can best be prepared if stopped by highway patrols.
She said: “Getting stopped by the police, even at a routine traffic stop, can be a scary experience. For those of us who are deaf or hard of hearing, it can be even scarier.
“When officers don’t realise we can’t hear them, it can lead to confusion or worse. As the wife of a law enforcement officer, as well as a deaf person, I know that police culture and deaf culture can be very different, and this video is here to bridge the gap.”
There have been reports in the United States of deaf people being assaulted by officers for what has been described as a failure to comply with verbal commands, aggressive hand signalling or resisting arrest.

Many deaf people use their hands to communicate, and police can perceive this action as a threat. Similarly, police may also wrongly assume that an individual can hear and is simply ignoring a command.

One such case involves 64-year-old Pearl Pearson, who was reportedly pulled over by a Oklahoma Highway Patrol in January and beaten by officers for disobeying orders he could not hear.

“Police need to understand deaf culture so that people don’t get beaten up at a simple traffic stop,” added Susan Mizner, Disability Councillor for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“The bottom line is that being deaf doesn't mean you lose your civil liberties.”

In road traffic accidents involving deaf or hard of hearing road users, lack of communication can also cause problems in justice being served and responsibility being assigned appropriately.

If you are a deaf road user and have been involved in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, contact Winn Solicitors’ Hard of Hearing page. We have a number of services in place to provide to allow deaf clients to access the same help and advice as our hearing clients.

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