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Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2006/09/11/2003327212 Police give armless driver the go ahead 警方允許雙臂殘缺人士駕車 Monday, Sep 11, 2006,Page 15
New Zealand police have dropped a dangerous driving charge against an armless man who was caught speeding without a license. The police have now said they accept that the man could drive a car safely with his feet. Colin Raymond Smith, who was born without arms, was driving 121km an hour in a 100km per hour zone in March. He was pulled over by a polioce officer who noticed that Smith's right foot was on the dashboard. Smith, 31, was given a speeding ticket and charged with dangerous driving and driving without a license. Smith paid a NZ$170 (NT$3,620) speeding fine and a NZ$400 (NT$8,515) fine for driving without a license. He then went to the district court in the North Island town of Tauranga to defend the dangerous driving charge. Sgt Sean Brennan told the court that police wanted to drop the charge after receiving proof Smith could safely drive an automatic car with power steering. He said Smith had gotten a learner driver's liscense after he was pulled over and should now be allowed back on the road. Brennan said that Smith's car should undergo some changes, however. “The police believe that in the interests of public safety this matter has been resolved,” Brennan told the court. Smith reportedly told the officer who pulled him over that he had been driving for years using one foot to steer and the other to work the pedals.(AP) 紐西蘭警方已經撤消一件危險駕車的起訴。一名雙臂殘缺的男子因超速又無照駕駛被逮到。警方現在改口說，他們接受那名男子可以用雙腳安全駕車。 出生即雙臂殘缺的柯林．史密斯三月時在每小時限速一百公里的地區，以每小時一百二十一公里的速度駕車。一名警員注意到史密斯的右腳踩在儀表板上，要他停下車來。 三十一歲的史密斯被開了張超速罰單，並以危險駕駛與無照駕駛的罪名被起訴。 史密斯繳了紐幣一百七十元（新台幣三千六百二十元）的超速罰款，以及紐幣四百元（新台幣八千五百一十五元）的無照駕駛罰款。他隨後到紐西蘭北島陶朗加鎮的地方法院出庭應訊，為自己的危險駕駛辯護。 西恩．布勒南警官出庭時說，警方接獲了史密斯可以安全駕駛備有動力方向盤的自排車之證據後，希望能撤銷對史密斯的起訴。他說，史密斯應警方要求停車的事件過後，已獲得學習駕照，現在應該可以獲准上路。然而，布勒南說史密斯的車子應該進行部份翻修。（註︰紐西蘭的學習駕照為通過筆試的駕照） 布勒南告訴法庭︰「警方相信，為了大眾安全的利益，這個事件已經結案了。」 根據報導，史密斯告訴攔檢的警官他已靠一腳駕駛、另一腳踩煞車板的方式開車好幾年了。 （美聯社/翻譯︰賴美君）
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