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lham Achmad Rezaldy, 31, went deaf when he was an infant, but as he grew older it did not deter him from making the daily 36-kilometer journey on his motorbike from his house in Tapos, Depok, West Jakarta, to his workplace at a food caterer in Grogol Petamburan, West Jakarta.

He said like common motorcyclists, he always made sure both he and his motorbike were fit for driving, such as by checking the headlights, turn signals, as well as wearing a standard helmet and long pants.

“I still need hearing aids [while driving], but sometimes I don’t wear them [and it’s fine],” Ilham told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said he was aware of his surroundings by making use of the rearview mirrors and that he could hear a car horn 3 to 5 meters away.

Being a deaf motorcyclist, he wanted to make friends and improve his knowledge about motorbikes, so he joined the Deaf Bikers Community Jakarta (DBCJ) three years ago.

The DBCJ, a deaf-only biker group, was founded by Romy Syahty, 45, on Aug. 9, four years ago.

Initially, Romy noticed that there were a lot of biker groups and some of the deaf bikers were members of them, but there was no specific group for people with hearing impairments.

“I invited my deaf friends to discuss forming a special biker club for deaf people, and we came to an agreement to form the DBCJ,” Romy told the Post on Saturday.

He said deaf bikers could ride safely, with or without hearing aids.

The World Health Organization divides hearing impairments into four grades. Mild means the quietest sound one can hear is between 25 and 40 decibels, as compared with the normal 20 decibels. Those under the moderate, severe and profound grades can hear the quietest sound of between 41 and 60 decibels, 61 and 80 decibels and over 81 decibels respectively.

“We can ride safely as long as we focus on the rearview mirror, look to our left and right, as well as stay in our lane. Some deaf bikers even take part in motorbike or car racing events,” Romy said.

Just like any other biker club, the DBCJ and its members regularly hold charity events, motorbike trips and many other group activities.

“The DBCJ is also registered with the Indonesian Motor Sports Association,” Romy said.

The DBCJ has 35 members in Jakarta. Having a hearing impairment, a motorbike and a driving licenses are the only membership requirements. Of the 35 members, 10 are non-active as they do not have a driver’s license.

According to Law No. 22/2009 on traffic and land transportation, there are four kinds of driver’s licences: type A for four-wheeled vehicles that weigh no more than 3,500 kilograms, type B I and II for vehicles over 3,500 kg, type C for motorbikes and type D for modified vehicles for the disabled.

Riska Presty, 40, the DBCJ’s secretary and Romy’s wife, said the 25 members had obtained their type C driver’s licenses. She added that deaf bikers used type C driver’s licenses instead of type D because they used unmodified motorbikes.

Driver’s licenses for the deaf can be a hassle to obtain, although not impossible.

“Just last week some deaf friends went to the Jakarta Police Driver’s Licenses Service Office on Jl. Daan Mogot in West Jakarta, but were rejected and bullied,” Romy said.

“[The officers said] deaf people must obtain a health document [specifying their condition]. That’s too much of a hassle for our deaf friends,” he said.

Jakarta Traffic Police driver’s license section head Comr. Fahri Siregar said those with disabilities could apply for driver’s licenses other than type D.

He added that the requirement to undergo a medical checkup to obtain a driver’s license applied to all applicants, whether or not they had hearing impairments.

“It depends on the doctor. If the doctor says the applicants are healthy [despite their disability], the police must accept their application,” Fahri told the Post.

Riska said despite challenges in obtaining a license, run-ins with the traffic police on the road were not necessarily an issue.

“Sometimes the officers simply can’t understand the deaf and let us go instead,” she said.