Woman fined by police for driving in burka told it was ‘as bad as eating sandwich behind the wheel’

Let’s hope this sets a precedent

A part of the article from

The Daily Mail:

  • ‘The officer who stopped her said she was driving hesitantly and clearly could not see properly’

By Ian Sparks

Last updated at 3:24 PM on 30th December 2011

'Dangerous': The Muslim woman 'clearly could not see properly' while wearing the veil, police said (file picture)‘Dangerous’: The Muslim woman ‘clearly could not see properly’ while wearing the veil, police said (file picture)

A Muslim woman has been fined for driving while wearing a burka because the garment ‘reduced her field of vision’.

Police who stopped the woman in France compared wearing a veil over the face behind the wheel to driving with ice on the windscreen, eating a sandwich or smoking a cigarette.

The woman was handed a £28 on-the-spot fine under article 412-6 of the highway code, which states: ‘Field of vision must not be restricted by either passengers, objects being transported or by the position of non-transparent objects on the windows.’

She was also told she was in breach of the country’s controversial burka ban imposed last April, which outlawed anyone hiding their face in public, including in streets, shops, restaurants and cars on public roads.

Police said the woman was pulled over while driving in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, on Thursday.

Spokesman Laurent Dufour added: ‘The officer who stopped her said she was driving hesitantly and clearly could not see properly.

Burka ban: French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described the veil as a 'sign of debasement'Burka ban: French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described the veil as a ‘sign of debasement’

‘Looking out through a narrow slit in the fabric is as dangerous as driving while eating a sandwich, smoking or with an iced-up windscreen.’

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

2 Replies to “Woman fined by police for driving in burka told it was ‘as bad as eating sandwich behind the wheel’”

  1. The dangers of driving with impared periferal vision caused by wearing a burka is a very good point. Has anyone composed statistics about accidents by women drivers who were wearing burkas? It does sound as alarmingly dangerous as driving while texting or using a cellphone which is against the law in the few states I am aware of.

    I cannot imagine that driving with impared vision by choice is not illegal everywhere in the US and Canada.

  2. A police officer who pulled over a woman for wearing a burka while driving might catch hell from unoficial areas but they might have a case for doing so now without an actual legal ban.