Lahore: A proposal has been made for important changes in the driving licence laws for hearing impaired people in Punjab. According to sources, the Provincial Motor Vehicles Bill 2025 was presented in the Punjab Assembly, which aims to make the system of obtaining driving licences for special people easier, safer and more effective.
Under the proposed amendments, it has been proposed to issue driving licences to people with hearing loss up to 40 decibels with the use of hearing aids, while in case of hearing loss of more than 40 decibels, it has been recommended to make the use of government-approved assistive technology mandatory.
According to the bill, a driving test of a hearing-impaired candidate is also proposed to be taken in the presence of an examiner or an interpreter. In addition, it has been recommended to eliminate the fee for issuing and renewing driving licenses of such people so that more convenience can be provided to them.
The proposed law also proposes that it will be mandatory to affix a special identification sticker on the vehicles of hearing-impaired drivers, while they will be exempted from the issuance of licenses to drive emergency vehicles.
Furthermore, it has been proposed to include hearing-impaired people in the legal definition of disability. According to the government’s position, the main goal of these amendments is to make the driving license system more accessible by providing safe and equal opportunities for disabled people.