Frankye Helbig, a deaf woman has just received her Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) license, and is believed to be the first deaf woman in Florida to pass the CDL. But it was not easy.
Ms. Helbig started her truck driving classes in 2015 at Florida State College of Jacksonville (FSCJ). But then she was told by the state of Florida that she could not sit for the CDL examination because Florida had a rule that said Deaf people can’t get a CDL.
Morgan and Morgan, NAD and Florida Legal Services Inc. worked with Ms. Helbig and the Florida Department of Highway, Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), to require Florida change their rule and allow deaf people to sit for the exam. The Florida DHSMV tested Ms. Helbig in Jacksonville on the campus of FSCJ and she passed. We believe Ms. Helbig is the first deaf female, who communicates by American Sign Language, to pass the exam in Florida.
Ms. Helbig’s instructors at FSCJ were great, and supported her the whole way, and the Federal authorities supported her right to take the exam. We are very proud of her success. If you are a deaf person and have been denied the ability to sit for the CDL, or if VR refuses to fund truck driver training because they believe deaf people can’t sit for the CDL exam, please share this announcement with them.
