Posted on 05/25/2006 2:44:59 AM PDT by DieHard the Hunter
An armless Tauranga motorist caught travelling at 121kph while using his feet to control the car has pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving.
Colin Raymond Smith, a 31-year-old beneficiary, was excused from making a second appearance this morning before a Tauranga District Court registrar. He has been remanded for a status hearing on June 20.
Smith, who was born without arms, was stopped for speeding on State Highway 2 mid-morning on March 23.
When police clocked him exceeding the 100kph speed limit he was allegedly using one foot to steer and the other to operate the accelerator and brake pedals.
The constable who pulled him up reportedly noticed the driver's seat reclined and a foot up on the dashboard, before seeing the torso without arms.
Although one of the two passengers in the car had a licence, Smith had never held one and the vehicle was not his. He told the shocked highway patrol officer he had been driving with the use of his feet for years without any problems.
Smith was issued on the spot with a $170 speeding ticket and forbidden from driving.
The charge of driving in a manner which might have been dangerous to the public was laid several weeks later. Smith did not enter a plea during a brief initial appearance before a court registrar earlier this month.
Give him the same exam as others. If he passes, give him a license. Done.
> Give him the same exam as others. If he passes, give him a license. Done.
There's something to be said for that logic, viewed in an American Context. Consider this, tho'...
DownUnder it is not at all uncommon for people to drive without licenses. Or, for that matter, to drive unregistered vehicles. Or for that matter, to drive unroadworthy (unwarranted) vehicles. Vehicle Insurance is not compulsory and it only covers property damage because...
...in New Zealand you cannot sue or be sued for Personal Injury!
Many of the safeguards you would take for granted "over there" just don't exist here.
121 kph -- what is that ? About 75 mph? 100 kph is 62.5 mph.
> 121 kph -- what is that ? About 75 mph? 100 kph is 62.5 mph.
That would be about right... "Multiply by six, divide by ten and round up to nearest 5."
There are very, very few roads in NZ (and certainly none near Taurunga, his neck-of-the-woods) where it would be safe to travel faster than 100 km/h / 60 mph. Certainly not in winter.
(and no, I do not care what my speed-demon countrymen might think: the accident stats speak for themselves, mates.)
As time when on, I realized that she had no arms but was eating with her feet.
French fries, soda, etc all with her feet.
She was a regular customer and I always recall, "It takes two feet to handle a Whopper."
Was he charged with failure to use hand signals? Driving with concealed arms? Driving on the shoulder? Flipping off the cop? Palming the cop a bribe?
No 'arm no foul!
There has been a young woman (early 20's) in St. Louis, also born with no arms, who has been featured on the local news who drives with her feet also. I believe her car is specially outfitted tho. She drives, goes to college and works just fine.....
One can complain about having no gloves, 'til you meet a man who drives with his feet.
He should move to Las Vegas. He could have a career on The World Series of Poker.
I've gotta hand it to him....!
By the way, if I am driving and using a cell phone in NYS speaking to one of my customers in another state can NY interfere with my interstate commerce?
Bonnie was born with no arms and was/is amazing in the kitchen!
Sebulba drives with his feet. I wonder if B.C. was Lucas' inspiration?
To give in to the equivalent perspective, urban and suburban straight roads are at 50 kph. In some cities the suburban major highways (the 4-lane ones, equiv to unlimited access US highways) carry a limit of 60 kph. Rural roads generally have a speed limit of 80 or 100 kph while motorways (interstate highways) are at 100 kph.
When I was a law student, I clerked in the city's law dept. One of my jobs was to review inspection records for hospitals around the city, to see how the city hospital compared with the private hospitals in town.
Why? Because a young woman was suing the city. She was born w/o arms and trained to use her feet. When she became ill, she was admitted as a patient to the city hospital and picked up a nasty infection which limited her ability to use her legs. Sad case. After reading all those inspection reports, I learned to think long and hard about going into a hospital unless it was to visit someone else!
I've crawled home legless a time or two.
Oh yeah, keep out of hospitals.
Full of sick people.
More often than not, open wounds too.
Which I can do without.
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