Bill still loves going for a drive at 104
Bill Mitchell has been driving since his mother showed him the ropes on the streets of Waimate when he was 11.
Ninety-three years later, he got his driver licence renewed for another two years.
The Christchurch centenarian turns 104 today and has seen road rules and conditions change.
‘‘You go back many, many years, there wasn’t so many cars on the road. Also, the roads were a little bit like shingle, except in cities,’’ he said.
Mitchell has held on to his licence throughout the decades, reapplying for it every two years since turning 80. He said he wanted to keep driving to retain his independence.
‘‘It’s just the pleasure of getting away somewhere and moving about. I go to the beach a lot and do a lot of swimming.’’
He drove up to four times a week ‘‘when my cobbers were alive’’ but had pulled back.
‘‘Now I don’t know whether to go into a home or what. It’s a bit early yet, I think, while I can still get around in [the car].’’
He still drove regularly to the RSA and to pay his bills. He had two secrets for a long life of driving, but saying so annoyed his doctor.
‘‘You know what it was? Every dinner out, I had raw garlic and a rum chaser.’’
The rum was saved only for when he knew he would not have to drive.
‘‘The policy now is you don’t drink and drive. So if I know I’m going to use the car I won’t even look at it.’’
Mitchell is one of 24 people over the age of 100 to have their driver licence, the most recent figures available show. More than 7500 licence holders are 90 or older.
NZ Transport Agency spokesman Andrew Knackstedt said one person with an active licence was born before Mitchell but it was unclear whether they still drove.
Knackstedt said that while vulnerable in a crash, elderly drivers as a group were ‘‘relatively safe’’.
‘‘They tend to drive conservatively, travel fewer kilometres and do not deliberately drive unsafely.’’
Mitchell joined the air force during World War II. When he came home, he and his wife ran grocery stores before he turned to driving taxis.
Even in his private life, he became a chauffeur for friends and family.
‘‘Some of my cobbers . . . asked me to drive them around. We were away for a few days.
‘‘They asked me if I would drive them down and around the South Island. I was the driver and they did the drinking. Buggers.’’
Licence holders as of May 2016
Aged 16-89 – 3,444,285; 90 – 2256; 91 – 2007; 92 – 1114; 93 – 970; 94 – 454; 95 – 361; 96 – 140; 97 – 111; 98 – 52; 99 – 33; 100+ – 24.