THE EDITOR, Sir:THE RECENT public announcement of the Jamaican government that it is seriously considering granting driving rights to the hearing impaired in this country has prompted this response from me on the issue: an urgent appeal for reconsideration of the matter.
Is someone really being prudent here, or striving to secure political mileage from the support of the physically challenged? Don't get me wrong, I am all for the physically challenged being given/allowed the freedom to be all they can be despite their impairment. However, one must know where to draw the line when it comes to matters of public safety.
The carnage on our Jamaican roads is already horrific. Who is it that does not realise that driving is oftentimes a stressful affair, especially considering the many potholes, which pop up out of nowhere, or considering the less than sane drivers who rush around on our roads like they were competing at Dover raceway?
OLD-FASHIONED BELIEF
Who is it that does not realise that driving demands the highest level of cognitive competence, and that all drivers do need all their senses in place? At times only the quick honking of the horn, and the split-second reflex response to such warning has saved drivers from disaster. That is why cars/vehicles are ALL built with horns.
Now the question is: How will the hearing-impaired ever be able to function normally on our sometimes very chaotic Jamaican roads (especially in busy city streets or on hyperactive thoroughfares) when they will not be able to even hear the simple horn of another driver warning them of danger? Call me old-fashioned, but I do believe that driving is a skill, which demands both eyes and ears, and not to mention something stable between the ears a good brain, that is.
I am, etc.,
DERRICK D. GILLESPIE
Derricgillespie955@hotmail.com
Black River, St Elizabeth
