logo
'Deaf learner drivers need more support'

'Deaf learner drivers need more support'

BBC News3 days ago
Deaf campaigners have called on the government to help make learning to drive more inclusive, as figures reveal there are no British Sign Language (BSL) qualified driving examiners anywhere across Britain.Official figures showed in 2023-2024 that 38.71% of profoundly deaf learners passed their practical test first time, compared with almost 50% of those who could hear.Sammey Ahmed, from Birmingham, who is deaf, passed his test in 2019, but said communication could be major barrier when learning.He benefited from a scheme run by the charity Deaf World, an organisation that supports young deaf people in the West Midlands.
Its road safety project 1st Gear helps learners get up to 25 hours of driving experience under the guidance of qualified BSL interpreters.Mr Ahmed followed that up by booking extra driving lessons with a standard instructor, but he said it had not always been a smooth ride.
"It really is [difficult]. The driving instructors are hearing, so the main barrier we face is communication," he said."If I want to learn in-depth knowledge or specific areas of driving, I'm limited to basic gestures. So it really is quite frustrating."'There is a lot of deaf people who don't have their driving licence, they feel quite isolated because of that."Mr Ahmed now works for Deaf World as a youth officer, supporting the work of the charity.The Royal National Institute for Deaf People said learning to drive could be crucial for many of those it worked with.Teri Devine from the charity said: "Deaf people are the same as everyone else. They want to go out and do things that they enjoy and want to be involved. "For deaf people, the biggest barrier is lack of access. It's society that disables a person."
For the theory test, the DVSA makes BSL interpreters available for candidates to book. And in recent weeks, a BSL translation tool has been introduced to the booking website in what it said was a government first.Many permanently deaf adults have low literacy levels, as reading is based on spoken language, meaning they rely almost entirely on BSL.The DVSA said extra support had been provided in 1,128,178 theory tests taken between April 2024 and March 2025,Of this, 1,832 were taken with BSL on-screen and 363 were taken with a BSL interpreter.The practical test is more of a challenge. At the moment, many learners rely on an interpreter who they are allowed to bring with them in the vehicle as well as the examiner, but communication can still be difficult.
For Mr Ahmed, learning to drive has allowed him to meet his friends and take part in cricket sessions."In my free time I can come here [to the cricket nets], that's why being able to drive is so important," he said."The deaf community experience an increased percentage of isolation, with deaf people more likely to stay at home. "It's helped me by giving me options of places to go - without being able to drive, it would be so much more difficult. "The idea of public transport is not enough for the deaf community."In a statement, the DVSA said anyone who met the required standard could pass the driving test regardless of disability and it encouraged people to disclose their needs so reasonable adjustments could be made.The DVSA added that if a candidate needed to pay a fee for an interpreter in the practical test, it would reimburse the cost.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Weston woman wins British Citizen Award for creating food bank
Weston woman wins British Citizen Award for creating food bank

BBC News

time2 hours ago

  • BBC News

Weston woman wins British Citizen Award for creating food bank

A young woman has won a British Citizen Award for creating her own food Ahmed from Weston-super-Mare built her own charity with studying for a law degree, which she has now Food Charity was created after Miss Ahmed, 21, spent her childhood with her father who would give out free meals to those who needed them, from his said: "When I was five years old I would see [my dad] doing all of the work and I would say to him 'let me help you'." "He instilled it into us as we've grown up," she 2015 Miss Ahmed began to help people by herself and support for her work grew by word of October 2023, Aishah's Food Charity was officially launched after the Covid pandemic, as a hot meal food bank."I saw the struggle from lockdown and the rising of the cost of living and I said to myself I've got to do something," she Wednesday Miss Ahmed works at her charity, on Walliscote Road in Weston-super-Mare, and it is also ran by volunteers on Sundays. 'It means everything' Miss Ahmed's father and brother do all of the cooking and her mother and sister and her take the food to site, package it, and hand it out to well as this, the charity reached out to various supermarkets including Lidl, Aldi, Sainsbury's and Asda who provide food for them to donate."It makes me feel good - The whole reason I do it is because I want those who are less fortunate to have things they want."The charity has also branched out by now donating items like sleeping bags and tents and bed sheets."It means everything to me this charity, it really does" she said.

Lonely Britain: Surge in people living alone to 8.4m fuelled by rise in over-65s
Lonely Britain: Surge in people living alone to 8.4m fuelled by rise in over-65s

Daily Mail​

time5 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Lonely Britain: Surge in people living alone to 8.4m fuelled by rise in over-65s

A record number of people are now living alone in the UK with a surge over the past decade driven entirely by a rise in over-65s residing on their own, official figures show. In total there were 8.4 million Britons living alone in 2024 - an increase of 11 per cent from 7.6 million people in 2014 - equivalent to 12.5 per cent of all UK households. More than half were 65 and over with an estimated 4.3 million over-65s living alone last year, up from 3.5 million a decade earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The statistics body said that 'people aged 65 years or over accounted in full for the increase in people living alone' while the number of people aged under 65 years living on their own remained stable. Some 40.9 per cent of women aged 65 and over lived alone compared to 27 per cent of men of the same age. The ONS said this reflects greater life expectancies in women while data also shows that men are more likely to remarry. Experts have raised the alarm over the epidemic of loneliness facing Britons, with the World Health Organisation declaring loneliness to be a pressing global health threat in 2023. The figures also show that the proportion of young adults living with their parents has risen by almost 10 per cent in a decade. Some 3.6 million people aged 20 to 34 years lived with their parents in 2024 compared to 3.3 million in 2014 - with more young adults now living with their parents at older ages. Young men are more likely to be at home with their parents than women, with 33.7 per cent of men aged between 20 and 34 years living in the family home, compared with 22.1 per cent of women. The ONS said more young adults living with their parents at older ages is part of a 'trend of adults reaching milestones later in life' - such as getting married and having children - and may be 'explained by a number of factors including increased housing costs'. Alison Fernandes, a partner at Hall Brown Family Law, said the rise in the number of women aged over 65 living alone indicated how much more confident women are now than their counterparts in previous generations. She said: 'Some of these individuals will have been among the first to capitalise on the opportunities to develop careers on an equal footing with men as a result of sex equality legislation. 'Having worked hard to establish a sense of financial independence, many will be wary of seeing it jeopardised. 'That is because they know a significant proportion of marriages do not sadly last the course. In fact, some of these women may already have been divorced and not wish to experience a repeat.' She added: 'That contrasts greatly with men of a similar age who are far more likely to remarry after a break-up.'

FTSE 100 closes at record high as investors assess earnings and US-Japan trade deal
FTSE 100 closes at record high as investors assess earnings and US-Japan trade deal

Reuters

time6 hours ago

  • Reuters

FTSE 100 closes at record high as investors assess earnings and US-Japan trade deal

July 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday to a record close for a third straight session, helped by positive corporate updates, while a U.S.-Japan trade deal also boosted global sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab closed up 0.4% at 9,061.49 points. The domestically oriented midcap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab also gained 0.4%. U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan, lowering tariffs on auto imports and sparing Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. The UK's automobiles and parts index (.FTNMX401010), opens new tab rose 2.5%, tracking strength in Asian rivals. Aston Martin (AML.L), opens new tab and Dowlais Group (DWL.L), opens new tab gained 8.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Healthcare stocks (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab rose 2.5%, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab and GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab gaining 3.1% and 1.8% respectively. Medical equipment and services (.FTNMX201020), opens new tab rose 1.5%, with a boost from Smith+Nephew (SN.L), opens new tab, up 1.8%. Media stocks (.FTNMX403010), opens new tab advanced 2.2%, boosted by Informa's (INF.L), opens new tab 4.9% rise after the events and academic publishing group raised its annual underlying revenue growth forecast. Conversely, construction and materials (.FTNMX501010), opens new tab stocks lost 1.5%, with Breedon Group (BREE.L), opens new tab down 7.5%, after the company forecast annual results at the low end of market expectations. In company news, Alpha Group (ALPH.L), opens new tab hit a record high and was last up 25.6% after U.S. payments firm Corpay (CPAY.N), opens new tab said it would buy the financial services provider in a $2.2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) cash deal. Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L), opens new tab rose 7.6% on stronger-than-expected quarterly silver output. J D Wetherspoon (JDW.L), opens new tab gained 1.9% after the pub group reported a rise in sales in recent weeks since May. British stocks have rallied this year, pushing the FTSE 100 to all-time highs in recent weeks, as hopes of interest rate cuts, optimism over the UK-U.S. trade deal and a surge in commodity prices lifted sentiment. Traders are currently pricing in an 89% chance of a 25 basis point BoE cut next month, according to data compiled by LSEG. This week, attention is on the UK flash Purchasing Managers' Index for July, due on Thursday, and retail sales data for June on Friday. Meanwhile, India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Britain, officials said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store