Blind man was 'dangerous driver'

A blind man, who lost his eyes in a bomb blast, has been convicted of dangerous driving after police spotted his car on the wrong side of the road.

Omed Aziz, 31, was being aided as he drove through Oldbury, West Midlands, by an allegedly banned driver in the passenger seat.

Warley magistrates were told he reached speeds of up to 35mph on the half-mile trip in April.

Aziz, of Oldbury, who denied dangerous driving, will be sentenced next Monday.

At a previous hearing, Iraqi-born Aziz pleaded guilty to driving with no MOT, no licence and no insurance.

Mr Aziz was fully aware of his disabilities and we find the driver was in a dangerous, defective state Richard Knight, chairman of the bench

Aziz is also partially deaf and suffers from leg tremors.

Richard Knight, chairman of the bench at Warley Magistrates Court, said Aziz was aware of the risk he posed to others.

"Mr Aziz was fully aware of his disabilities and we find the driver was in a dangerous, defective state," he said.

Aziz and his friend were arrested on 23 April at about 2300 BST after police followed their car along Oldbury Ringway and into West Bromwich Street, Pc Glyn Austin told the court.

He said: "I attempted to speak to the driver, who appeared to be fumbling around with the controls.

'No eyes'

"At that point the passenger leaned across and stated: 'He's blind'".

Another officer, Pc Stuart Edge, who was present at that time, told magistrates the vehicle had crossed a white hazard line on to the wrong side of the road just before being stopped.

Pc Edge said: "I asked him if he could see me. He removed the dark-coloured sunglasses he was wearing and I could clearly see he was blind as he had no eyes."

Aziz, who said he had previous driving experience prior to being blinded in his homeland, was present in court and was helped around by an interpreter.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/5313370.stm