Can an illiterate person in a car know that there is a police car is behind?

Just because someone can’t read doesn’t mean they’re blind. Of course they could. A five year old could identify a police car and they can’t read either. However, that said, if someone was truly illiterate they never would have passed a driving test to begin with.

I have the same question as @Coloma, how did an illiterate person get a driver’s license?

I have a special needs aunt who can’t read but she has a drivers license and drives. She probably has an IQ of about 65.

@ARE_you_kidding_me That is very interesting. What state is that in?

Ohio, she obviously knows what a stop sign looks like, what to do at stop lights. Driving actually does not take literacy.

Yes. Not being able to read shouldn’t deter someone from knowing what those flashing police car lights are for, especially after acquiring a driver’s license.

The written component of the driver’s licence test here is a multiple choice exam. I’m sure if someone coached the learner, even someone who was illiterate could pass it. Much of it shows diagrams and you have to pick which is the right scenario. What does the written component of a driver’s licence test look like in the US? Is it different in each state?

And I agree with those who have said an illiterate person isn’t an idiot. They can identify a police car.

I don’t think anyone said an illiterate person was an idiot. There are many questions on the written test in Hawaii that are nothing but words. And there are quite a number of variations of the test, so it would be next to impossible to memorize the answers in advance. I’m having a hard time imagining getting a license without being able to read.

There are accommodations made for people with reading impairments. That is what ADA law is all about.

And yes, a person who cannot read that is driving a car can tell there is a police car behind them as well as anyone else. There is no writing on the front of a police car; they usually (but not always) have a distinctive two tone paint job.

The cop car has a light bar on top of it, usually has other features like the light on top of the side mirror, may have the grid between front and back seat (grid is visible in your rear view mirror when a cop car is behind you). The bumper will usually be a heavy duty bumper. An unmarked car or detective’s car without the light bar will have the light on the side mirror and the grid. If you look at an unmarked car from the back, you’ll see a heavy duty suspension system. Cop cars will either be a bigger, heavier car or a fast car like a Mustang. You’re not going to see a Prius as a cop car.

@Hawaii_Jake, the suggestion that someone who is illiterate won’t be able to identify a police car suggests they are lacking in intelligence which is obviously not true.

There’s a reason why a stop sign is distinct from a held sign or a speed limit sign. Road signs, at least the ones conveying vital information, are designed to be readily discernable just from a glance. Literacy doesn’t much factor in to driving.

I know a man who is illiterate and he has a Michigan drivers licence. I assume that under the ADA laws, someone read the driving test to him, but I could be wrong.

I just googled and found that at least in one state (California) you can have the test read to you and they have an alternative method for completing the test, in lieu of reading it

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/dl/dl_info#alternative

@jca Wow, I never knew that and I’m a Californian. Wonders never cease. haha

I learned something new today.

My question to you @flo, is why do you think they wouldn’t know if a police car was behind them?

Thanks all. By the way, I started out by “Can an illiterate driver…” and decided to go with ”...an illiterate person in a car…”

Of course anyone, illiterate or not, can tell what a police car looks like and what police is about. Unless of course, they directly immigrated from a part of the world where there are no police cars and never seen a movie with a police car in it etc.

I was trying to give a GA (for example to @Coloma‘s 2nd post) on a tablet it refused. Why is that?

If they’re immigrants it doesn’t mean they’re illiterate.