CALL BOX FOR THE DEAF MEANS ROADSIDE RELIEF.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

LeeAnne Zirbel was on her way to work last November when her 1989 Dodge lost power and rolled to a stop on the shoulder of the freeway.

What would normally be a difficult situation was even more distressing for Zirbel, who is deaf. She cannot use a conventional telephone and was unable to summon help from a roadside call box.

``It was like talking to a wall,'' she said. ``I kept saying into the receiver that I needed help, but I didn't know if it was working or if anyone could hear me. I was really terrified.''

Zirbel decided it was too dangerous to sprint across an off-ramp or scale a sound wall to get to a parallel street. So she waited for 1-1/2 hours before a highway patrol officer pulled up.

A year later, Zirbel does not worry about encountering the same problem. Transportation officials announced Monday they have begun installing Teletype keypads in 500 call boxes designed for motorists who are deaf or have speech impairments.

Roadways in Ventura County will be the first in the nation to be equipped with the technology, said Ginger Gherardi, executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission. The project has been in the works for almost four years, with test models installed in five call boxes a year ago.

The field models were redesigned a few times to simplify their use and toughen the units to withstand taxing roadway conditions. The system costs $275,000 to design and install for the entire county and is funded through a $1 tax included on every Department of Motor Vehicle registration fee collected in the county.

Small keypads attached to existing call boxes feed information to a Highway Patrol dispatcher. All county call boxes should be equipped with the new technology by January.

The fact that Ventura County is first to launch the system demonstrates local commitment to making public services available to everyone, said County Supervisor Susan Lacy.

``Every kind of breakthrough we make like this we stand a little taller and feel a little better as people,'' Lacy said.

Stranded motorists make 110,000 calls for service from California call boxes every month, said Caltrans Chief Deputy Director Robert Sassaman. Transportation authorities in other counties have been slow to implement any improvements, he said.

Pressured by groups that represent the disabled, counties across the state are watching the Ventura program closely.

``Several counties are facing lawsuits for not complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act because their call box equipment does not meet the needs of the deaf and hearing impaired,'' Gherardi said. ``Some of the other counties were actually pretty annoyed that we were doing this because they felt they would be required to do it, too.''

Ventura County officials are unsure how often the system will be used, but expect it to be employed by the 10 percent of the population who are deaf or hard of hearing.

For her part, Zirbel said she is relieved help is now available in case she needs it.

``No one should ever have to go through that,'' she said. ``I'm very happy to see call boxes here first. It makes me feel proud to live where I do.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) LeeAnne Zirbel of Port Hueneme, who is deaf, tells in sign language of the trouble she had with a conventional call box.

(2) The new call box features a TTY system designed to aid hearing-impaired motorists.

Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News