New Zealand driver, 105: 'I don't think I'm old' driving for 88 years! - Luxury Coach Lifestyles
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 06-07-2013, 01:14 AM   #1
Wheeler
Member
 
Wheeler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 69
Default New Zealand driver, 105: 'I don't think I'm old' driving for 88 years!

I know there has been discussion on this forum before on a time to retire from driving and traveling in our coaches. This article is interesting and inspiring at the same time.

New Zealand driver, 105: 'I don't think I'm old'

<cite class="byline vcard">By NICK PERRY | Associated Press</cite>


Bob Edwards was born before the first Model T rolled out of Henry Ford's factory in Detroit. He learned to drive in a French car that had a lever instead of a steering wheel. And he's still on the road, only now in a red four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi.

The oldest licensed driver in New Zealand, and one of the oldest in the world, has been driving for 88 of his 105 years and has no plans to give it up, just as he intends to keep working out every morning in his home gym, and to keep regularly cooking meals for himself and his wife, who's 91.
"In fact, I don't think I'm old," Edwards says. "Not really."


He's been involved in just one crash in his life and has gotten just one speeding ticket, a citation that still gets him riled up years later. When he broke his left hip three years ago, his doctors said to stop driving for six weeks but he didn't pay them much mind. After all, he says, he drives an automatic and only needs his right leg for that.
In New Zealand, drivers older than 80 must have their health and vision tested every two years to stay on the road. Many countries in Europe and U.S. states have similar requirements.


While stories about elderly drivers making mistakes or causing crashes often make headlines, it's young drivers who tend to cause the most damage.

"Older drivers, on a per-kilometer-driven basis, are involved in far fewer crashes than younger drivers," said Andy Knackstedt, a spokesman for the New Zealand Transport Agency, which oversees driver testing.


He said that for many elderly people, retaining a license helps them maintain their independence, mobility and dignity. "Our job is really to balance that with the need to make sure our roads are safe," he says.


According to Guinness World Records, the world's oldest driver was American Fred Hale Sr. who was on the road until his 108th birthday in 1998.
Edwards drives three times a week to the store 15 kilometers (9 miles) down the road. He picks up groceries on Sundays and the newspapers on other days. Occasionally, he says, he'll drive farther afield, to a medical appointment or to visit friends.


He grew up in England and he learned to drive in his uncle's car, a De Dion Bouton.


"It was something new. Cars were just coming in," Edwards says. "I mean, it was just marvelous."


He got his first license in 1925 at age 17. Two years later, he saw a Salvation Army ad seeking young men to work on the farms of England's colonies.

"They told me Canada was very cold, Australia was very hot, but New Zealand, they said, was just right," Edwards says. "So I picked New Zealand."


He eventually bought a Dodge car, converted it into a truck and started transporting the fossilized gum of native kauri trees from Snells Beach in the north to the city of Auckland. Soon he was working 16-hour days and transporting butter, groceries and gas; he bought new trucks and employed a couple of drivers.
Gas rationing during World War II effectively ended his business. For much of the rest of his working life, he captained tourist and car ferries, fibbing about his age so he could work beyond what was then the mandatory retirement age of 60.


His wife, Lesley, stopped driving about 30 years ago. Her husband always took the wheel, anyway, and he will stay with it as long as he can.
"As far as I'm concerned, driving is a part of me," he says. "I mean, that was me. I was a driver. And I could drive anything. Anything at all."

New Zealand driver, 105: 'I don't think I'm old'
__________________

Wheeler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2013, 04:00 PM   #2
Randy J
Senior Member
 
Randy J's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Where ever we happen to park the Newell
Posts: 485
Default

This guy is to cool for words.
__________________

__________________
Randy and Leeann Jagger

1991 Newell Coach
2011 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

"If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.”

"Sometimes I pretend to be Normal. But it gets boring. So I go back to being me." lol!
Randy J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2013, 04:55 PM   #3
stewart33
Senior Member
 
stewart33's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: When in the Newell it changes. Home: Oregon
Posts: 271
Default

I believe retaining a drivers license helps maintain ones independence, mobility and dignity. I have heard many stories of folks going downhill once they quit driving. If this guys mind is still fresh why not? New Zealand must have some fresh clean air keeping this old man young.
stewart33 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Awning Stuck & Won't Roll Up Twins Exterior Works 2 01-12-2013 07:18 PM
Towing Your Newell prestadude Major Mechanicals 44 04-05-2011 03:57 PM
Engine Belly Pan 77newell Exterior Works 2 10-23-2009 02:56 AM
Newell in Louisiana Stick Miller General Technical Discussion 1 05-22-2009 07:56 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Newell Coach Corporation or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 04:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×