While laws permitting individuals with hearing impairment to operate motor vehicles remain in place, new laws just issued this year aim to prevent the hearing-impaired from operating vehicles used to carry out interstate commerce. Certain rules and stipulations have been put in place to define the extent of hearing loss permitted. Commercial vehicle operators who suffer some hearing loss are encouraged to be familiar with the new rules:
• Drivers suffering hearing loss of greater than 40dB in their better ear are not permitted unconditional licenses
• Conditional licenses may be issued to drivers with moderate hearing loss, subject to periodic review before a driver licensing authority
• A conditional license may involve a hearing aid requirement as well as vehicle modifications such as extra mirrors and visual alerting mechanisms such as lights and displays to alert the driver of sirens and warning signals
If you are the victim of an accident in which yours or the other party’s hearing has become an issue, your interests will be best represented by a firm that not only understands the law, but medical terminology, conditions, and procedures as well. To provide for your representation, contact Dover so that we can begin the process of getting you back on the road to recovery.