National President of Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD) Emmanuel Kwaku Sackey has called the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to speed up processes and procedures to give deaf people the permit to own driver’s license.
The National President made this known during a stakeholder’s session-mainly attended by the Ghanaian Media, on Thursday, 17th September, 2015, at the Conference Room of the Accra Rehabilitation Centre. “Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD) is making a passionate appeal to the Board of DVLA, to consider, as a matter of urgency, the need to establish systems and processes that would enable Deaf people in Ghana to own driving licenses, within the shortest possible time”, Mr. Sackey noted.
According to the Simplified Version of Disability Rights Law in Ghana published by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and written by: Nana Oye-Lithur – Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection, Shyamala Stickney and Sashy Nathan, “ A Person Who Has A Hearing Disability May Own A Driving License If They Pass A Driving Test And Satisfy Vehicle Examination & License Department Conditions.” So why are deaf people not giving the opportunity to be tested and issued driving permits?
At least 234,000 people in Ghana have hearing and speech disability. The 1992 Constitution, the Disability Rights Law, and various International Conventions on the rights of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) make provisions for the inclusion of PWDs in all facets of national life, including to own driving licenses.
The laws of Ghana: (1992 Constitution and Disability Law) , International laws to which Ghana is a signatory, practices in other countries, research findings and competence of deaf drivers all attest to the fact.
According to the World Federation of the 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 license, or that they are involved in more traffic accidents or injuries than the general population. GNAD survey goes further to say that deaf drivers are better than hearing ones because they respect road safety regulations and use rear-mirrors more effectively on the roads. Also, because their hearing is impaired, their other senses are naturally trained and sharp to compensate for the loss of hearing. Deafness or disability for that matter should not hinder the quality of life. The right to drive and the privilege given by DVLA is not a trivial one. Without a driving permit, Deaf people are restricted in their ability to work and to access medical, educational, career, community, information, leisure and other services.
Many people wonder how a Deaf person can drive without being able to hear audible cues such as a police siren, an ambulance needing the right of way, or even a honking horn. There are several ways around this problem. However the most common is that most deaf people simply pay attention to visual cues, such as the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle, frequent use of peripheral vision, frequent use of rear view mirrors or cues from other drivers on the road. For example, noticing other drivers move to the side of the road is a strong indicator that an emergency vehicle is approaching.
Hearing people might also wonder how a Deaf person would communicate with a police officer if pulled over. Deaf drivers could be required to carry Identity cards to let police officers know that they are Deaf and to suggest ways to communicate, such as by writing in a notebook which is always available in the car.
Despite widespread ratification of the CRPD (of which Ghana is one), a lot of things are still undone. Most countries including Ghana who have ratified the Convention, are not implementing the provisions. It is against this background that the GNAD organized this stakeholders meeting and press briefing to highlight these challenges and to offer suggestions and the way forward.
As stipulated in Article 29 clause 6 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, public institutions are obliged to make their services accessible to all including deaf people.
The event was also used to highlight on the yearly global ritual- International Week of the Deaf (IWD) celebration, an initiative of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) observed by deaf community during the last week of September. The purpose of the IWD is to commemorate and to promote the rights of deaf people, highlight specific human rights topics that merit attention and create awareness about deaf culture as widely as possible. The theme for this year’s IWD is “With Sign Language Rights our Children Can”.
A citation in honour of the Turkish Embassy in Ghana for supporting the Ghanaian delegates to the just ended WFD Congress held in Istanbul, Turkey given to the ambassador. The day was also used to launch Sign Language Directory developed by GNAD.
