81- year- old stopped for 'speeding' on Venice Lido - An elderly Italian wheelchair user has been told to register his vehicle as a car and get a licence plate so he can use it on the street.
Pietro Matiz, an 81-year-old paraplegic, was stopped by traffic police for driving too fast along Venice's famed Lido.
"They said I was endangering pedestrians because my chair goes at nine Km/h when it should have a top speed of six," Matiz told reporters.
"I feel like I'm under house arrest now I can't use it".
"The situation is all the more absurd because the law on these new wheelchairs came out in 2005 and they haven't done a thing even though they knew it would cause problems".
"I phoned a handicap helpline and they said the transport ministry had to talk to the health ministry before anything could be done".
"In the meantime I'm stuck in the house with my allegedly souped-up chair in the garage".
