Designing inclusive driverless tech: Safety for deaf and hard of hearing road users
Original framing: “How driverless vehicles can be made safer for deaf and hard of hearing people” — The Conversation - Global
In many non-Western cultures, communication is inherently multimodal, relying on gestures, visual signals, and tactile cues. These cultural practices offer valuable models for designing driverless vehicles that are accessible to a wide range of users.
The design of driverless vehicles must move beyond a narrow focus on technical fixes and embrace a systemic approach that includes marginalized voices from the start.
By integrating Indigenous and cross-cultural communication models, historical lessons from accessibility movements, and scientific insights into human-computer interaction, we can create transportation systems that are truly inclusive. Marginalized communities, particularly the deaf and hard of hearing, must be active participants in shaping the future of mobility. This requires not only technological innovation but also policy reform and cultural change. The synthesis of these dimensions offers a path toward equitable, accessible, and sustainable urban transportation.