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Blind man sentenced for driving
September 12, 2006 01:47am

London - A BLIND man who was convicted of dangerous driving after he admitted being behind the wheel of a car that touched 50km/h was given a three-month suspended sentence. Omed Aziz was also banned from driving for three years at Warley magistrates' court in Oldbury, West Midlands.

Mr Aziz, 31, who lost his eyes after an explosion in his homeland of Iraq, had been driving by following instructions on where to steer and when to brake from a passenger who himself had been banned from driving.

When police stopped the Peugeot 405 in April this year after it had erratically negotiated two traffic islands and a corner, Mr Aziz's passenger explained that his friend was blind. When Mr Aziz, who is also partially deaf, was asked to step out of the car and remove his sunglasses, the officer was surprised to see he did not have any eyes, the court heard earlier this month.

In his defence Mr Aziz, who also suffers from leg tremors and has only two fingers on his right hand, said he was testing his driving abilities.

At an earlier hearing he had admitted driving with no licence and no insurance.