Singapore's oldest driver hopes to do "100" - not kmh, though, for he does try to keep within the speed limit.

Declared Mr Abraham Loh, 95: "I hope to continue driving even when I turn 100 in five years' time."

Mr Loh, who retired as a metal manufacturer in 1995, is the country's oldest licensed driver. He renewed his licence more than two weeks ago, after his doctor gave him a clean bill of health and certified him fit to drive.

He has been driving since 1951 and said he has never met with an accident.

But the affable father of four and grandfather of eight admitted: "I react a little slower nowadays, but can still handle a car safely."

The Sunday Times took the front passenger seat as Mr Loh drove his Mercedes C-Class from his bungalow home off Stirling Road to the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) in Sime Road for his morning tee-off. He plays golf every other day and has a handicap of 24.

With nary a medical ailment - no colour blindness, eye trouble or mental disability, and a stable blood pressure - he is often on the road.

Besides driving to his club, he and his 78-year-old wife shop and eat in Orchard Road and the Tiong Bahru market and go for medical check-ups at the Singapore General Hospital.

Cruising along Lornie Road at about 70 kmh, he checked his side mirrors, signalled, then deftly changed lanes before turning into the SICC in Sime Road.

He kept his eyes trained on the oncoming traffic and pedestrians crossing the road. His grip on the steering wheel was firm. The car never strayed from its course and he reverse parked in just one try.

As Mr Loh put it: "You have to be driving long enough like me to estimate accurately the amount of space you need to park."

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Apr 6, 2008.