Simonar says he was asked for his license and registration, so he stepped out of the car and asked the officer to retrieve the documents from his pocket. He says the RCMP officer was prepared to let him go, but a Saskatoon Police Service sergeant overseeing the operation instructed him to issue a ticket. “The guy looked like he was having a bad day ... trying to push his authority around,” Simonar said. “He became very ignorant, and said, ‘Well if he can’t put his seatbelt on maybe he shouldn’t be driving.’ That’s what really made me mad.”
Simonar, 55, lost his arms in an accident some 28 years ago. He was hauling a sailboat out of a lake when the boat’s mast struck an overhead power line, electrocuting him through the arms and flinging him to the ground. “Electricity burns from the inside out, so they really don’t know the damage until it has run its course,” he said. “Five or six operations later … they had to take my arms right off.” The accident has not kept Simonar from driving. He has rigged five vehicles - including a four-wheel ATV - with a special wheel and stirrup that allow him to steer with his left foot.
While he has been pulled over before, Simonar said he has never been treated this way. “It never dawned on me I’d get a ticket, because I’ve been stopped numerous times and I’ve never had an issue,” he said. “You just have to look once to figure it out.” Simonar has been asked by the police to visit the station Wednesday to discuss the issue. “I’ll go to jail over this - I am not paying that ticket,” he said. Saskatoon Police spokesperson Alyson Edwards said people with disabilities must have the correct paperwork to avoid fines while driving.
6 comments:
I've seen people with no arms drive vehicles, however they generally don't wear shoes so their toes can hold the wheel etc. They were at least wearing a seatbelt though.
Sideways though.....If I pay compulsory health insurance (in case I smash myself up) and if I pay compulsory car insurance (in case I smash my or anothers car up), what the fuck does it matter if I don't wear a seat belt ? In it to help the insurance companies ? in that if I only have neck and chest injuries from the seat belt that is cheper to cure than a broken arm from being thrown across the car ? I can have exposed sharp knives in my kitchen, and a toaster within a metre of my wet sink, yet I have to wear a restraining belt when driving my car. Been driving since I was 15. I am 56 now. Have not had an accident at a speed over 15 kph, supermarket carpark speed. Tell me why I have to be restrained while driving.
Speed typing causes spelling mistakes, probably need a keyboard safety belt.
He's rigged his vehicle to drive without his arms, he should at least rig a seat belt to follow the law.
If he flies through the windshield and only ends his own life, then maybe a belt isn't necessary for him. However, can it be absolute that his actions would not affect other potential victims? I certainly don't want a body flying towards me at an accident when it could have been so easily avoided with a seat belt.
Laws are made for everyone, arms or not.
Think of all the people you affect when they have to pick your grazed and mangled corpse from the front of the car and the road. Also, if your passenger doesn't wear a seatbelt and you're in a crash, there's every chance they'll kill you by ploughing into the back of your skull.
Bah, gimps always want special treatment.
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