92-year-old student goes to driving school

Terry Collier originally passed his driving test in 1947 and drove for the next 72-years without an accident, but he stopped driving two-years ago due to health issues. His daughter, Julia, noticed how much her dad missed driving and decided to sign him up for a driving lesson.

She did her due diligence and found a driving school that usually catered to 10-17 year-old aspiring drivers. It has no maximum age limit for students and is open to anyone that wants to drive in a safe environment with a qualified driving instructor.

As a proper Father’s Day gift Terry got behind the wheel again, and the Devizes, United Kingdom resident drove a Bentley Flying Spur at the Young Driver driving school.

“It was fantastic being behind the wheel again, I really have missed it. It all came straight back to me. I’d never driven a Bentley before, so that was a great experience. I learnt in a Morris Minor and I’ve driven lots of different makes and models since I passed my test age 18 – including caravans and campervans. It was great to see lots of young people learning to drive too. My advice to anyone newly behind the wheel would be to always take yours and other people’s safety seriously. Be careful and considerate on the road, it’s not worth the risk.”

Terry Collier is a former residential social worker and is a grandfather to six and a great grandfather to seven.

“Although our pupils are typically under 17, we do have lots of people come along who may not be able to drive on the roads for one reason or another,” said Sue Waterfield, head of marketing for Young Driver. “They may be nervous, or they may have a disability which means they’re unsure if they’ll be able to pass their test. We’ve even had blind pupils. Because we operate on private land and with highly trained instructors in dual controlled cars, it’s a perfectly safe place to give it a go. Our pupils just aren’t usually as experienced as Terry with 72 years of safe driving under his belt!”