This month, Florida is putting into effect a new driver’s license design that incorporates more security features and accommodates more information – including a detail that could assist people with hearing impairment. With the August 2017 roll out of new licenses and ID cards, Florida is giving people with hearing loss the option of putting a “hard of hearing” notice on their card to alert people to potential communication challenges. The notification will take the form of the international symbol for deaf and hard-of-hearing designation, an ear with a diagonal strike through it. This new feature helps bridge a disability barrier, especially when establishing communication with the police.
Quick Alert System
Conveying a language barrier as efficiently and easily as possible has long been a concern for people with hearing loss and deafness. To work with the police, people with hearing impairment often use a printed alert, like a card attached to the windshield visor, or a communication card. The new Florida driver’s license design is another way to convey the special needs of hearing impairment before miscommunication can occur.
Florida is introducing the hard of hearing designation as an optional feature. Listing it on a renewed license will cost $1.00 in addition to regular license fees and $2.00 additional for replacement cards. Opting for the on-license notification is voluntary, but could be of great use to those with deafness or hearing loss especially in the event of a police stop or emergency situation. The new licenses will be gradually introduced across the state as new presses go into production, and are slated to be in all counties by December of this year. Driver’s licenses and identification cards will be gradually replaced as old cards expire so the shift to the new design will happen over the course of several years.
Other Tools for Hearing Impaired Drivers
Other handy notification systems hearing impaired drivers may want to consider are visor alerts and communication cards, kept easily accessible when driving. Attached to the back of a windshield visor puts alert cards within easy reach but also lets them remain discrete for regular driving. It is advisable to have accommodation information readily available also to quickly convey the best methods of communication. Several free designs for visor and communication cards are available for printing from the internet. Similarly, organizations for the hearing impaired often offer free communication cards via mail.
Using a communication card is simple. In the event you are pulled over by police, flip down the visor to make your disability alert visible to the officer, along with accommodation information. Then keep your hands visible at the “10 and 2” position on your steering wheel until clear communication is established with the officer.
What Else Is New on the License
Florida’s new license design isn’t just about hearing, although as your local audiologist, it’s certainly the feature we’re most interested in. Licenses will now have additional security features, including multiple images of the driver’s photograph, overprinting and several features printed in ultraviolet ink. The card also incorporates a special gold foil element that is both transparent when backlit and fluoresces under UV light. The cards feature color-coding for different license designations and clear age demarcation for those under 21.
The card’s new design is a move to make the licenses more secure and harder to counterfeit, but also to be able to incorporate more amounts of relevant information into the card. Additional special designations are available for licenses such as veteran status and insulin dependency. Lifetime hunting and fishing licenses can also be incorporated into the design. Special designations, aside from organ donor alerts and developmental disability notifications, will cost $1.00 each for a renewed card and $2.00 for a replaced card.
Gulf Gate Hearing Aid Center
If you have noticed changes to your hearing, now is a great time to set up an appointment with Gulf Gate Hearing. We’re proud of our four decades of service, providing our customers with the best solutions for healthy hearing. In addition to hearing exams and earwax removal, we also handle hearing aid programming and repairs for your hearing devices. Our office is conveniently located and offers a full selection of hearing aids to fit every lifestyle and budget. If you have any hearing concerns, drop us a line – we’re always happy to help you on the path to better hearing.
