Trial date set for Claremore golf cart ticket case

Tuesday, November 18th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A disabled man in Claremore will go on trial over a traffic ticket he got while driving a golf cart.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says it's a no win situation for the court. They'll either uphold a $140 traffic ticket against a man in a golf cart - or set a legal precedent that could allow unsafe vehicles on the road.

The case centers around a disabled man named Gene Young who has not let cerebral palsy stop him. He can barely walk - so he uses a golf cart to get around town - mainly back and forth to his job. He got a ticket for driving the golf cart across Route 66 - one of Claremore's busiest city streets.

Gene Young: â€œEither this is a free country or it's not, you can't have it both ways. They can't decide you can have certain freedoms and not have others.â€

The Rogers County District Court will decide if Mr. Young has the freedom to use his golf cart. He's protesting the ticket and the case goes to trial in December.