U-turn cop loses moped case

A former police chief will be fined for driving a moped while disqualified. Photo / Supplied

A former policeman convicted over an accident which seriously injured two motorcyclists has been found guilty of driving a moped while disqualified, after he argued it was a bicycle.

Judge Geoffrey Ellis, returned his guilty verdict for Antony Dale Bridgman in Blenheim District Court this week after a defended hearing in July.

In what is regarded as a test case, he ruled that a moped is not a bicycle and cannot be used to circumvent driving bans, the Marlborough Express reported.

A sentencing date has not been set but Bridgman faces "a small fine" but will not be disqualified from driving further.

The former chief of the Marlborough police highway patrol, Bridgman was disqualified from driving after a high-profile court case last year in which he was found guilty of two charges of dangerous driving causing injury.

In the Buller Gorge in December 2007 he made a three-point turn round a bend on the narrow road to chase a motorcyclist but turned into the path of two more motorcyclists, who received serious head injuries in the collision.

Bridgman was disqualified from driving for a year and was required to pay $60,000 to the two victims as well as do 100 hours of community service.

Bridgman retired from the police in 2008 after 35 years' service.

During July's hearing he told the court that after his conviction he had investigated ways to get to his new storeman's job, 7km out of Blenheim.

His health meant cycling to work with the weight of the gear he needed would not be possible.

He said he had researched legal alternatives before the buying the Easy Rider power-assisted pedal cycle.

"I was confident in my own mind that it was not a motor vehicle."

Mark Robson, a Nelson cycle shop owner and the dealer who sold Bridgman the Easy Rider, said the importer had informed him it had been specially modified to have a 300watt engine for New Zealand regulations, meaning it did not require a warrant, registration or a licensed driver. It was marketed and sold under that understanding

- NZPA