AUTHOR Robert Gillespie

105 Years Old And Still On The Road

Ring…..Ring…, Hello Indigo car hire how can I help you? I want to hire a car…. Ok Sir how old are you? I’m 105. Silence, sorry Sir we can only hire to 99 year olds and under. That’s pretty much how the phone call would go, but yes its right there’s a 105 year old still driving on the roads today, he unsurprisingly has plenty of experience with having his licence since 1925. That can’t be safe for other drivers though can it? Well according to him he has only had one accident and one speeding ticket in which he is said to deeply regret and is still aggravated at the fact he got it, safer than most drivers on the road today and with far more experience.

New Zealand like other countries also requires once passed a certain age that you need to pass a medical in which we can assure you this man is completely legal on the road. The hardest thing was to find insurance in which he managed to acquire, Bob Edwards who is born in Hastings but now lives in New Zealand is a regular traveller making trips to the shops which is a good few miles away from where he lives.

When Bob Edwards was learning to drive he did so in a French car that had a lever instead of a steering wheel, I don’t think many of us remember such a time I certainly don’t. He puts up a serious case against the old driver stereotype of being dangerous and unsafe due to lack of vigilance so don’t judge a book by his cover, he’s 105 years old and doesn’t show any signs of giving up driving anytime soon, besides he can’t his wife who’s 91 gave up her driving duty 30 years ago due to Mr Edwards always being the one who drove.

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.

Robert Gillespie

Traveller