Deaf taxi driver asks passenger to write down his drop location. His reponse left him smiling ear-to-ear

Life grows more beautiful when we meet people who are just like us — they have a similar value system, their cultural roots tie into ours, or they think along the same lines. When we find people who radiate a similar frequency, we feel at home and resonate with them, no matter how different we may be from the rest of the world. Something similar happened when a deaf taxi driver picked up a passenger he felt familiar with. Turns out, he was deaf too! SON DURAK — who goes by u/Nitro5Rigger on Reddit — shared the heartfelt video that got the Internet smiling wide.

Remember those childhood days when we would end up playing with the kids who had similar toys or watched the same cartoons as us? The same tendency has followed us into adulthood, as we mostly feel more drawn towards those colleagues who hate the boss, too. When the deaf taxi driver picked up his passenger, he had no idea about his disability, and vice versa — when he thought he was trying to instruct him verbally, the taxi driver wrote a text on his phone for the passenger to read, making him aware of his condition. To his surprise, the passenger responded in sign language, expressing that he was deaf too — and thus began a beautiful car ride. The moment of shared feelings and resonance made their interaction a wholesome one and delighted viewers.

Viewers penned emotional comments expressing their feelings after watching the video. u/dalittle wrote, “Wow, they are both so happy. I love it when it becomes immediately obvious, he does not need his writing pad to communicate. Such a wholesome moment,” while u/Schowbenn exclaimed, “They definitely didn’t see that one coming!” u/SirAchmed shared their fascination, “Man I have always wanted to learn sign language. I was fascinated by it since I was a kid. I just thought it looked so cool! Unfortunately, I never did. And now, as an adult, it's nearly impossible to find the time to learn and practice.”

u/AliEffinNoble shared her heartwarming story, “In my mid-20s, I was a homeless sex worker and I had a regular customer who was deaf… When I was in middle school, I had a hyper-focused phase of learning American Sign Language. I still remember how his face lit up the first time I got into his car and signed to him. After the first few times, he gave me a book so I could brush up on my signs and we could have deeper conversations. He drove for Domino's and would always bring me any extra food that he could grab. I often think about him. He was so lonely, it made me so sad. I hope he's doing better.”

Anecdotes like these prove how important it is to be understood, which can only happen when 2 people share a similar circumstance, including disability. According to a study by Arielle M. Silverman and others, when 2 people share disabilities, they feel more understood, more like they belong, and are better empathized with, leading to emotional and social well-being. Even though the study was mainly about shared blindness, the principles and results can be aptly applied to other disabilities as well, according to Elizabeth Mazur, proving why the taxi driver and the passenger had the widest smiles on their faces. Another study by Healthy Ageing and Physical Disability reveals that disabled people with more disabled friends were overall happier compared to those who had fewer friends with disability. One even told the researchers, “I think it’s a matter of feeling less self-conscious around [other people with disabilities] because they don’t see you the way other people see you.”

After all, the human heart wants to be understood and feel at home with people — whether similar or not. Small gestures like learning the basics of sign language, building wheelchair-accessible ramps alongside stairs, or gifting sensory toys to autistic kids can have a long-lasting impact on them.