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Cops charge 95 year old scooter operator with impaired

Police found the scooter stationary in the middle of the road
20210824 opp nipissing west cruiser
OPP Nipissing West

Police have arrested and charged a 95-year-old driver of a low-speed mobile scooter with impaired after a complaint the vehicle was a traffic hazard. On a highway, a low-speed vehicle still requires a driver's license, Insurance, and proper plate to be operated on a roadway.

Just after midnight on August 30, Nipissing West OPP responded to a "traffic hazard blocking the roadway on Pine Street" in Sturgeon Falls.

Police found the scooter stationary in the middle of the road. The operator was arrested for impaired driving and taken to the OPP detachment for further testing.

Francis Landry, 95, from West Nipissing, was charged with "operation while impaired - alcohol."

Landry was released and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice on October 3 in North Bay.

The driver was issued a 90-day Administrative Driver's Licence Suspension.

A pilot program, that was launched in 2017 and will run for 10 years, allows low-speed vehicles that meet certain requirements to be used on roads in Ontario with a maximum speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour. Municipalities must pass by-laws to allow low-speed vehicles on roads. 

Read about the low-speed vehicle pilot program here.

A low-speed vehicle is an electric, four-wheeled vehicle that is smaller and lighter than a regular car. Low-speed vehicles have a maximum speed of 40 kilometres per hour.