By KELLY MAKIHA in Rotorua
An armless driver who drives his car with his feet and was caught speeding by police is likely to be charged with dangerous driving.
The 32-year-old Waikato man was clocked doing 121km/h on State Highway 2 at Papamoa on Thursday morning. Police dished
out a $170 fine for his speeding offence and have also forbidden him from driving because he doesn't have a licence.
But police say they are also considering charging the man with dangerous driving, which carries a maximum sentence of three months' jail, $4500 fine and a minimum of six months' disqualified driving.
The man had passengers in the car when he was stopped and at least one of them had a current licence.
The speeding driver was spotted by Te Puke-based Highway Patrol officer Constable Brent Gray who initially thought the driver had his right foot on the dashboard because he had an attitude problem.
But the man told police he had been born with no arms and had driven for years using his right foot to steer and his left foot to work the accelerator and brake pedals.
Transport New Zealand media manager Andy Knackstedt said the dangers of such driving were obvious.
He said there were ways people with no arms could drive but they involved getting your car modified or having prosthetic limbs.
"I'd imagine there is certainly a process you can go through but you would have to go to a doctor and occupational therapist, and work out a solution for your car."
While he had heard of several people with no legs driving cars using modified hand controls, he had never heard of anyone driving unaided with no arms.
