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Bizarre


Armless Man Stopped for Speeding
By Associated Press
Posted May 26 2006, 7:57 AM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- An armless man stopped for speeding was driving with one foot on the steering wheel and another on the pedals, a policeman testified in court.

Colin Smith, who was born without arms and has never held a driver's license, appeared in court Thursday charged with driving in a manner likely to be dangerous to the public.

The police officer who stopped Smith said the driver's seat was reclined and the armless man appeared to be using one foot to steer the car and the other to work the accelerator and brake. Smith, 31, entered no plea but said he would defend himself against the charges.

He told the court he had been driving for years, using his feet to steer, and had never had an accident.

That's amusing, sad, and scary. Gotta feel bad for the guy though, even though he was obviously endangering the lives of everyone around him.

he was obviously endangering the lives of everyone around him.

If he has been driving for years without an accident, I'm not so sure about that. I know plenty of able-bodied cagers that have gotten into multiple accidents and who shouldn't be on the road, yet the government does nothing to stop them. It sounds to me like this guy's a much better driver than they are.

Agreed...just because cars are designed for a 4-limbed person doesn't mean that we have to arrest everyone who doesn't conform to vehicular normality. If this guy can safely pass a driving test with no arms, he should be able to drive.

After all, you only get a few points taken off for not having your hands at the 10 & 2 oclock positions anyway

Fair enough, those are valid points. However, we have not yet been able to verify that he can drive quite safely. Lying to the police and media is quite common, and I'm sure we'll never hear a follow up story to this. I'm just a little skeptical, though obviously he could be telling the truth and might be a great driver with two feet and no hands.

This story kinda reminds me of my uncle, who often steared his car with his knees so he could have two hands free to open his can of beer.

zara, you'd be surprised at what you can do with your feet if you had to, and you had enough practice. I've seen people open bottles, play the piano, play catch, eat dinner with a knife and fork or CHOPSTICKS.

Some of those people are more capable than most fully-armed folks I see around.

CNF2002 wrote:zara, you'd be surprised at what you can do with your feet if you had to, and you had enough practice. I've seen people open bottles, play the piano, play catch, eat dinner with a knife and fork or CHOPSTICKS.

Some of those people are more capable than most fully-armed folks I see around.

I'd love to see someone eat with chopsticks using their feet! Have a video by any chance?

XM23 wrote:This story kinda reminds me of my uncle, who often steared his car with his knees so he could have two hands free to open his can of beer.

My Uncle would do the same to to roll cigarettes...

There is the question of why can't the man have a car adapted for him? Theres a huge support network of engineers that relish a challange support disabled riders and drivers in the UK, I'm sure they must have them in NZ as well...

I smell bullshit. Can't find it on snopes but this is obviously an urban legend.