The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has partnered with the Department of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living (DAIL) and Vermont State Police (VSP) to create visor cards to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing communicate with law enforcement officers if they are pulled over while driving.
Vermonters can now obtain the visor cards through the DMV, and the VSP has given a visor card to every state trooper.
The 4- by 9-inch cards state clearly at the top, “I am deaf or hard of hearing. This card is to help drivers with hearing loss communicate with police officers.”
There are tips for how officers should communicate with the cardholder, followed by options that cardholders can point to indicating how best to communicate (writing, texting, lip reading, etc.) with them.
On the back, there are graphics with one-word labels that officers can point to under “I need to see your” (license, registration, insurance, other) and “Violations.” The last section is “Help” and lists options for cardholders to show the officer what they need (medical, lost, tow, etc.).