Fact Finders: Ensuring safety at traffic stops

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Traffic stops happen daily in the United States. One of our viewers is worried about the safety of drivers in the deaf community during a traffic stop. They have several questions, including: Does Missouri have a way for deaf people to communicate with hearing officers to avoid dangerous miscommunication?

A Colorado case made national headlines in 2019. That’s when police arrested a man after he ran a stop sign. Officers say he stepped out of the car and shouldn’t have done that.

In all cases, stay in your car. A deaf woman tells us that deaf drivers should place both hands on the door window or on the wheel. At night, turn the dome light on and start finger spelling that you’re deaf.

In addition, The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has visor cards available. They look like this. The Missouri Sheriff’s Association helped produce the cards to improve communication with the deaf and hard of hearing.

Meantime, The Springfield Police Department tells us it trains specifically for situations like this.

“We do provide both academy training and in-service training on scenarios dealing with persons that are deaf or hard of hearing,” explained Major Stacey Parton of The Springfield Police Department. “So we specifically train and ask them to adapt to the situation.”

Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers can also request a code for their driver’s license. The state changed the code from J88 in 2018 to DHH. It’s optional, not mandatory, that you have this code.

Returning to the viewer’s question, Does Missouri have a way for deaf people to communicate with hearing officers? The answer is YES.

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