TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A new law in Florida will give deaf drivers the option to identify themselves as hearing-impaired when they register vehicles.
Lt. Robert DiGonzalez of the Tallahassee Police Department: "Where this helps you is that before the officer approaches the vehicle, he already knows that he's going to have to change tactics on how to approach the driver because the driver won't hear him."
DiGonzalez says the new law is the first of its kind in the country.
Some deaf advocacy groups support the program.
It's estimated that there are more than 400,000 deaf Floridians, and a similar number of drivers who have hearing aids or age-related hearing loss.
The new law goes into effect Monday.
