WATCH "It's a pure ego thing": 89-year-old Derbyshire great-great-grandfather aces advanced driving test

John Todd received the highest possible commendation on 21 out of 23 criteria for the IAM RoadSmart test on Saturday, August 31, and has now been encouraged by his examiner to take the higher Masters qualification.

It kicked off a week of celebrations for his platinum wedding anniversary – marking 70 years with wife Else – and continues a proud record of driving excellence which has earned John numerous accolades since 1952.

His latest success was the fifth time John has passed the IAM test, adding to five gold awards from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and an Order of the Knights of the Road badge once handed out by the News of the World.

John said: “It’s a pure ego thing. It’s the greatest pleasure of my life to be able to drive, and to drive very well. I don’t know why it’s important to me but I just come alive when I’m in the car.

“My daughter’s visiting us at the moment from Brighton. She’s a pensioner herself now and says she still gets carsick when she’s driven by anyone but me. Passengers can totally relax in my car, knowing how good I am.”

After a varied career including a stint with Sheffield transport services, John eventually retired as a probation officer but always found time to pursue his favourite hobby.

He said: “I signed up as a regular soldier at 17 and went into the service corps especially because I wanted to learn to drive. I got my licence after five lessons in a seven tonne truck, and showed so much potential they sent me straight on to an instructor’s course.

“I passed that in about a week, learning about all the workings of the vehicles, and then worked as instructor until I got fed up with it and volunteered for the parachute regiment.”

He added: “I was the only person to win the Sheffield Driver of the Year competition twice. The first was in 1961, when one of the prizes was a place on the IAM advanced driver course.

“Winners weren’t allowed to enter the competition again, but then it was amalgamated with a competition hosted by the Formula One racing driver Graham Hill and the rules changed, so I entered and won it again in 1975.”

With all that experience, John felt no nerves taking his latest test on the roads around Chesterfield.

He said: “I was sat there before it started totally relaxed. Luckily I got the examiner I wanted. At one point I had a big 40-tonne lorry pull out in front of me when it shouldn’t but I was prepared for it and I didn’t have to use excessive braking.

“At the end, when the examiner asked how I thought I’d done, I said ‘alright,’ and he said, ‘I couldn’t fault you.’

“The only low mark I got was for not giving a commentary while I was driving. I wasn’t expecting to do that, but when you do the Masters you have to talk for the whole 90 minutes about what you’re doing and what you’re seeing. That’s the ultimate. There isn’t a harder test in the UK.”

With more over-60s now on the roads than ever before, a number of high profile tragic accidents have fuelled increasing debate about the balance between personal independence, public safety and the inevitable effects of aging.

His hearing is not what it used to be, he has a visual impairment in one eye and a blue badge in his windscreen due to a disability which makes walking difficult, but John says his skills at the wheel show no signs of rust.

He said: “I’m driving as well as I ever did. In fact, I’ve got better as I’ve got older. Looking back at all my test reports, not one of them comes close to the result I got on Saturday.

“There are a lot of people like me, and I know there are several over-80s with certificates from IAM and RoSPA.

“Like anyone my age I’ve had to reapply to the DVLA for my licence every three years. I’m absolutely 100 per cent confident that if it gets to the point when I’m not safe on the road, I will stop immediately and voluntarily. I will know as soon as that time comes.”

He added: “I do think a new driving test for older people would be a good idea. All elderly people should be able to pass a simple driving test, just to assess their safety. I strongly believe in that but I don’t believe in putting an age limit to it.

“What I hate is to see bad driving on the road, whatever the age of the driver. We see examples of really bad driving every day.

“As far as I’m concerned, the two key things are observation and anticipation. That’s it – nothing to do with car control. You can be the worst driver in the world in terms of car control, but the best with excellent observation and anticipation.”

John ventures on to the roads most days in his 14-year-old Peugeot 3008 Sport, which gets three mini-services a year at the local garage, but he’ll be leaving it at home for a couple of special outings this week before he starts planning for his Masters test.

He said: “I’ve been told that less than one per cent of marriages last 70 years. We’re having one anniversary meal at the Peackock Inn in Cutthorpe, which is only a few minutes away, and another in Bakewell on the day itself, September 4. We’ll be getting a taxi for that. I’d like to have a drink.”

Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.