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Deaf motorcyclists respond, 'Yes, and?'

Ken Bingenheimer's photo
Motorcycles Examiner
deaf motorcyclists
Luci Gale (left) and Swanhilda Lily are deaf motorcyclists. Can you tell?

How different it must be, to ride a motorcycle and be deaf. What an interesting story that could make, to talk with some deaf riders and write about their special needs and ways of compensating. And hey, did you even know that deaf people could get a driver's license? Isn't there some sort of hearing requirement to be able to drive? Preconceptions.

Preconceptions are a funny thing. There's something you don't really know much -- or anything -- about, but you have some ideas about it anyway. If you're lucky you have the opportunity at some point to discover how wrong you are. I had such an opportunity recently.

Back in August, when I was covering the Dirty Dozen fundraising ride for breast and ovarian cancer, I met Jasmine Bluecreek-Clark, who specializes as a motorcycle riding instructor for deaf riders. Jasmine introduced me to several deaf riders and served as interpreter as we talked. Along the way I spoke with Cody Weese, who learned to ride from Jasmine and has a Suzuki GSX-R600; Tom Crawford, a long-time Harley rider who sometimes assists Jasmine in her classes; and Luci Gale and Swanhilda Lily, both of whom I met at a poker run to benefit the Rocky Mountain Deaf School.

deaf motorcyclist
  Jasmine converses with Cody during a motorcycle mechanics class. At center
  is Jasmine's husband, Roger.

From the very start, asking about the unique world inhabited by deaf motorcyclists, I got one simple response: We are no different. Riding a motorcycle, for us, is the same as it is for you.

How can this be? You can't hear. What happens when an ambulance comes racing up behind you with its siren blaring and you can't hear the siren?

No, you can't hear the siren, Cody agreed, but you do observe other drivers pulling over, and that tips you off to do the same.

More to the point, several of the riders pointed out, motorcycling is primarily visual. With a helmet on and the roar of the engine, plus any other noise, it's really no different from someone in a car. Think for a moment about the stereotypical soccer mom. She's riding in an SUV with the windows rolled up and the AC on, the kids are screaming, the radio is blaring, and she's talking on her cell phone. Is she more aware of the traffic around her than the deaf motorcyclist who is constantly scanning in all directions because they know their life depends on it?

Says Swanhilda, "The deaf are aware of what others are doing, while the hearing are not predicting what other people will be doing."

Luci adds, "Deaf people have better vision skills, can see a wider range, and have better peripheral vision. If a hearing person hears a sound they get distracted and look; deaf people are just paying attention visually to the road."

Those statements may be a bit sweeping or over-broad, but that may be due to the limitations of working through an interpreter. The gist of what they are saying makes sense, though. Deaf riders -- deaf people -- routinely maintain serious visual awareness of their environment. For them it's a very important fact of life.

One of the biggest impediments deafness creates, in fact, is in learning to ride a motorcycle. In most classes an interpreter is needed for the classroom portion of the training. Out on the asphalt it's another story. Instructors routinely use hand signals because with the helmets and the motors running even hearing students can't be assured of hearing instructions. Once they've learned to ride, however, deaf riders have a much easier time communicating between bikes because they're already accustomed to using hand signals.

The one other situation I was able to identify when being deaf can be an impediment is when you get stopped by the police. But that's not insurmountable. Tom Crawford said he just carries pen and paper with him wherever he goes.

So whether you know it or not, deaf riders are out there. And if you didn't know that, that's probably a testament to the fact that their deafness just doesn't matter.

"We still like the feeling of power in the bike, the wind in the face, having fun, and the freedom," says Cody. Just like the rest of us.

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Ken Bingenheimer has been in love with motorcycles as long as he can remember and finds Colorado the perfect place to ride. He shares his enthusiasm on his website, Passes and Canyons, Motorcycle Touring in Colorado. Reach him at kenbingenheimer@yahoo.com.

Comments

  • Patty Davis 2 years ago

    What an extremely interesting article. You did a wonderful job interviewing and reporting on something that I, truthfully, had never thought about.

  • AJ Butler 2 years ago

    Brian had a deaf student in his BRC a couple of years ago. It was a learning experience and amazing to him. Great article, Ken, as usual.

  • Brian 2 years ago

    I had the privilege of coaching the BRC many times with Jasmine. She exposed me to coaching deaf students in the BRC, I believe I took more away from the class than any student.Jasmine is a great rider coach and a advocate for the deaf. She is worthy of an article of her own.

  • Mary Baker 2 years ago

    I had never though about it either; but deaf people have a right to enjoy riding, too, and I'm glad for them. In fact, they probably are just as good, if not better, than other riders. Kudos on an interesting article.

  • Jasmine 2 years ago

    Thanks Ken for getting this important information out there. All of my mc safety students are very special to me - but my deaf students do hold a special place in my heart. I appreciate you sharing this story with everyone and helping to get the word out. Deaf love to ride and can learn as well as or sometimes better than the hearing students. I am so proud of my previous students who you wrote about here.

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