Wanted: Passenger Bus Drivers! Help us make this a reality!
Deaf school bus drivers Tess and Dez talk about their experiences with getting their licenses, and who they are – and are not – allowed to drive.
What is “Let Us Work” all about?
Deaf people are capable of holding many jobs that we are currently barred from. These fields — that we’ve found so far! — require that applicants pass a hearing test.
Do these jobs really require hearing? Are there other ways to achieve the same results? How much do the restrictions stem from stigma or misconceptions?
We will examine these questions in our “Let Us Work” video series, highlighting workplace inequalities. We will look at what jobs carry hearing restrictions, why, and what can be done about that.
The ADA was passed almost three decades ago. Yet Deaf people still don’t have a level playing field when it comes to employment. Get rid of the hearing test requirements and LET US WORK.
We are acting to remove unnecessary, discriminatory hearing restrictions from current policies.
Recent studies have shown that Deaf people perform certain tasks better than the general public. In several of these studies, Deaf people were shown to have higher capacity for processing visual tasks, demonstrating quicker reaction times to visual stimuli. In others, Deaf people were shown to be quicker at recognizing and interpreting body language. Everything being equal, this gives Deaf people a leg up when it comes to jobs that rely on visual processing or interpreting body language — such as Transportation Security Officers, who screen travelers and monitor them for suspicious behavior.
But everything is not equal, and Deaf people are prohibited from being Transportation Security Officers, though the career would otherwise seem uniquely suited for them. Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires Transportation Security Officer applicants to pass a hearing test; those who do not are placed on hold, effectively tabling their application and denying them the honor of becoming Transportation Security Officers.
This artificial barrier to employment not only denies Deaf people careers, it prevents Deaf people from serving their country. But this doesn’t need to be the case: Deaf people are employed as security guards, surveillance managers and expert body language analysts by private companies, and by the governments of other countries. DHS’ requirement for a hearing test is notable for the fact that it excludes any consideration for the provision of reasonable accommodations — which private companies are required to provide applicants, per the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Do you want to tell the TSA that you want them to open up their hiring process and let Deaf people work where they are most successful? Sign the petition, here!
Did you know that there were no Deaf commercial truck drivers before 2012? Anyone wanting to drive a commercial truck or passenger bus must have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates CDLs. And until 2012, the DOT required that anyone who wanted to become a truck driver to pass a hearing test to receive a CDL.
Those who could not pass the hearing test were not eligible to get a CDL.
In 2012, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) filed a request with the DOT asking to remove the hearing test requirement for CDLs. The DOT did not grant that request, but did decide to set up a waiver process instead of removing the hearing test requirement.
In 2013, the DOT granted waivers to the first group of 38 Deaf Truck Drivers. Today, there are 618 Deaf Truck Drivers, and counting!
But the waiver system still has problems. Not only is it an extra, unnecessary step, but Deaf people who want to become Truck Drivers have to wait longer and longer than ever to go through the process. Waivers currently take up to one year to be granted, a year in which the Deaf person is unable to work as a truck driver, even if they have all of the necessary training.
And the DOT’s waiver process doesn’t include Class C CDLs — the kind you need to drive a passenger bus. This is because the DOT decided that passenger bus drivers still need to be able to hear — even though there’s demand for Deaf passenger bus drivers, such as at Deaf schools.
We need to shine a bright spotlight on this injustice and pressure the DOT to revisit the NAD’s original request — to eliminate the hearing test requirement entirely.
Want to support Deaf truck drivers? Sign the petition here!
“I am a licensed Deaf private pilot. Flying has been a lifelong dream of mine but, currently under FAA regulations I’m not allowed to pilot for big passenger airlines. If the technology to provide me with all of the important information was safe and available, would you trust me to fly for you?” – Jackson Busenbark, licensed private pilot – Airplane Single Engine Land.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates pilot certifications. Our community has a rich history of Deaf aviators, including Rhulin Thomas, who flew coast to coast in 1947. This led to him receiving a medal at the White House.
Unfortunately, Rhulin lost his pilot’s license in 1947. The rise of radio communications meant that Rhulin and generations of Deaf pilots that followed him were excluded from flying many types of planes starting in 1947, simply because they could not use radio equipment on those planes.
Today, the FAA is working on a next-generation satellite communication technology called NextGen, which includes data communication capabilities. We have filed a petition with the FAA asking them to consider which existing and emerging technologies can enable Deaf pilots to communicate with air traffic control (ATC) without a voice connection — and to make sure that the design of NextGen allows for pilots to communicate with ATC through data communications only.
By demolishing the artificial barrier created by radio equipment in 1947, Deaf pilots will again take to the sky unencumbered by the restrictions that, today, only allow them to fly where they do not need to communicate with air traffic control.
Do you want to tell the FAA that you support these changes? Sign the petition, here!
More videos coming soon! Next: Bus Driver.