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Wheelchair rider wants to use highway
Llano woman says riding on road within law
Updated: Thursday, 02 Aug 2012, 6:51 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 02 Aug 2012, 6:30 PM CDT
LLANO, Texas (KXAN) -
Mary Jo Needham gets around Llano pretty well in her electric wheelchair.
But it's the way she gets around that is causing heartburn for local law enforcement officers. Needham rides on the street.
"The problem we have in Llano County is there's no sidewalks," said Needham, "It's getting really bad not just for myself but others who are disabled."
Her ex-husband says she often runs into potholes and has to maneuver dangerously close to fast cars.
"If a car is coming," said Kirby Needham, "they have to go around her on the opposite side of the road."
Part of Mary Jo Needham's routine is to get on this road right here and get her way around between her apartment and downtown Llano. The problem is though police says it's not only very dangerous it's also illegal.
Llano Police Chief James Shilling said he understands why Needham may want to get on Ranch Road 152 sometimes. The problem is that the speed limit is over 30 mph on the stretch of road she often uses.
Shilling says anyone traveling on a motorized vehicle at wheelchair speeds is considered dangerously slow and therefore illegal. He worries for Needham's safety and has had numerous complaints citing they've nearly hit her.
Needham says she's actually been hit twice, but claims she's within her rights. She even carries a transportation code page she says legally allows her to occupy the road when there are no sidewalks and denies she's breaking the law.
"No, I'm a pedestrian in a wheelchair. Three to four wheels not going over five miles an hour," Needham claims by adding, "That makes me a pedestrian, gives me the legal right to be on the road."
The city has made efforts to accommodate wheelchairs downtown. But Shilling says Llano has no ownership over land bordering FM 152 because it's owned by the state.
In the meantime, both Needham and Chief Shilling have an understanding that she will be ticketed next time she's caught driving on the busy.
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