KEY POINTS:
A terrifying two kilometre drive the wrong way up a busy Wellington highway has not dampened 98-year-old Harry Spencer's enthusiasm for driving.
In driving rain and darkness last month Mr Spencer and his 92-year-old woman friend drove the length of Wellington's Ngauranga Gorge in the wrong lane before colliding with an oncoming vehicle.
Despite the close call, Mr Spencer is keen to get back behind the wheel, having been discharged on a charge of dangerous driving.
Mr Spencer will ask Land Transport for his licence back but may have to resit a test.
He told The Dominion Post his age had nothing to do with the crash.
"I can't get my licence back quick enough. I profess to drive as well as anybody. I don't drive as fast as I used to but I can still do it. You bet.
"I've been driving for 80 years and this is the first (at fault) accident I've had."
Mr Spencer said on the night of the accident he was near the LV Martin Store at the bottom of the gorge when his windscreen was doused in rainwater from a truck ahead of his car.
Blinded, he followed the white road markings, unaware they led him up the gorge off-ramp.
"About 200 yards up I realised I was on the wrong track. The cars were coming down, swerving past. It was awful. My little friend was saying, `ohh, ohh', then it was `oh hell'. I was looking for a way out but there wasn't one."
Though both cars in the accident were written off, no one suffered serious injuries.
- NZPA
