4 laminated Hearing Impaired 4x4 Square Logo Signs; use on your front and back door, office desk, or any other place that needs special attention.
2 Lamnated Driver is Hearing Impaired Visor Cards with instructions on the front and the back of the card. Each card is 10x6
2 Laminated Hearing Impaired Wallet Cards with instructions on the front and the back of the card
Set of instuctions on proper usage of Visor Cards and Placement.
Correctly Placing Your Visor Cards
Your Visor Cards is useless unless they are instantly available whenever you need them. You don't want to have to rummage around in the glove box or under the seat when you are pulled over. (Police officers may think you are reaching for a gun and act accordingly.)
The Visor Card is called a visor card for good reason. You attach it to your sun visor. That way, it is normally out of sight, yet instantly available when needed.
Here's how to mount it. Fold down your sun visor. Place the Visor Card on your sun visor—right side up facing you when your visor is down. Hold it in place with two elastic bands around both the Visor Card and sun visor.
With the sun visor up, your Visor Card is hidden out of sight so you are not advertising the fact that you are hard of hearing, but it is in place, ready for instant use whenever you need it.
Two Visor Cards are Better than One
So far, I have talked about using just a visor card on the driver's side. However, you should consider having two visor cards—one for each side. Here's why.
If you are stopped along a busy highway, especially one with narrow shoulders, sometimes the police officer may go to the passenger-side window because it is safer. Police officers have been hit by vehicles whizzing past, so in such situations, they may choose to play it safe and come to the passenger-side window. As a result, you will want to have Visor Cards for each side of your car.
In addition, if the police suspect that you are driving a get-a-way car, for example, two police officers may approach your vehicle at the same time, one on each side. This is another excellent reason to have two visor cards displayed, so both police officers instantly know you can't hear.
Using Your Visor Cards
If you are ever stopped by the police, follow these steps in this order.
1. Pull over and stop safely. (If it is dark and you are able to, stop under a street lamp, or pull into a lighted parking area. This will make it easier for you to speechread.)
2. Immediately flip your sun visor down, unhook the end by the rearview mirror, and swing it over so your Visor Card is clearly visible in the driver's side window. If you have two visor cards and you think a police officer will come to the passenger side, deploy that visor too. Even better, deploy both visor cards every time you are stopped. That way, you have your bases covered, no matter what happens.
3. Open your driver's side window all the way. (Police officers get very nervous with today's dark windows!) Also open the passenger's-side window if you flipped that visor down as well.
4. If it is dark, turn on your dome light.
5. Place both of your hands on the steering wheel well before any police officer approaches your vehicle. Police officers want to see both your hands at all times. The safest place is to put them on the wheel at the standard driving positions of 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Keep your hands on the wheel until after you establish effective communication with the police officer. Have the officer remove your Visor Card and read the instructions on the back so he knows how to effectively communicate with you.
That's all there is to it! You may never have to use your visor cards, but if you ever do get pulled over, you are prepared. You can "hang loose" and let your Visor Cards do the work of bridging the initial communications gap with the police.
July 2005 by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. (Revised October 2007) Center for Hearing LossHelp www.hearinglosshelp.com
