Now, persons with hearing impairment can drive in state

03.06.2018
PATNA: The state transport department has decided to issue driving licences to persons with hearing impairment in the state – both for two-wheelers and four-wheelers. “An order in this regard will be issued on Monday. The first such driving licence will be issued on Tuesday,” secretary of transport department Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said.
“Members of the Bihar Sports Council of the Deaf had recently requested me not to deny driving licences to hearing-impaired people,” Agarwal said, adding a hearing-impaired person can drive by taking necessary precautions.

Agarwal said although the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 does not restrict a hearing-impaired person from driving or acquiring licence, they were earlier refused licences as they failed in the medical tests.

A PIL had been filed in the Bombay high court in 2013, seeking issuance of driving licences to hearing-impaired persons. Later, a meeting was held between the complainant and joint secretary of the Maharashtra state transport department to discuss the issue. An opinion had been sought from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-New Delhi in this regard. In its report, the country’s premier hospital said a deaf driver with proper hearing aid did not pose a threat to fellow drivers. In 2016, the Centre circulated a letter to all state governments.

“If a person rehabilitated with hearing amplifications can hear reasonably with the same, there seems little reason to deprive him or her of a driving licence,” the letter stated. The Bombay high court had also passed its judgment in favour of the PIL. Agarwal said the decision of the Bombay high court was also followed by the central government.

“We will introduce a logo or sign to signify that the driver is hearing impaired. Such drivers will undergo a separate driving test before getting licences,” Agarwal added.

General secretary of Bihar Sports Council of the Deaf Athar Ali has welcomed the decision of the state transport department. “Hearing-impaired people are capable enough to drive. The number plates of vehicles driven by hearing-impaired people should be marked with HI followed by BR for Bihar,” Ali said.

Agarwal said people with hearing disabilities can drive smoothly. “They are cautious and drive safely,” he said, adding the initiative to issue driving licences to hearing-impaired persons was aimed at empowering the differently-abled people in the state.