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Grandad Bashir passes driving test aged 79! (From Asian Image)
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Grandad Bashir passes driving test aged 79!
7:00am Monday 20th April 2009
A grandfather with driving ambition is living proof that you are never too old to learn.
Bashir Ahmed, who has ten grandchildren, defied critics to pass his driving test at the age of 79.
Mr Ahmed, of Rhodesway, Allerton, said fellow learner drivers poked fun at him when he went to take his theory test and said he was too old to start driving. But after 40 lessons with a Huddersfield-based instructor, the proud pensioner has realised his ambition and has already started using his new-found ability to explore the area.
Mr Ahmed, who came to Bradford from a disputed part of Kashmir in 1956, said the driving license had given him a new lease of life and that he felt like a 17-year-old again.
He said: “People told me I was overage and that I was not going to pass the test – but that didn’t bother me.”
His son, Tariq Ahmed, said: “Hope-fully this will give hope to others who give up on life after 50. He is going to drive all over England now. Yesterday, he said he was just going for a little drive but ended up going up past Keighley and towards Skipton.
“He is retired so he is going to discover things, go here and there, go around the country and visit places.”
His son-in-law, Ejaz Hussain, said: “He has been trying for quite a long time. It was a dream for him to drive on these roads. He’s quite old so he went to automatic cars.
“He is enjoying it. People told him he was too old, but he didn’t listen to them.
“Sometimes we are at work and if he wanted to go somewhere like the shops he had to wait for us to come back and take him there. That’s what made him more interested to do the test.”
Although the DVLA does not keep official records, there are reckoned to be only a small handful of pensioners who pass their driving test each year.
In 2003, Lord Renton, then 94 and at the time the oldest peer in the House of Lords, made headlines when he passed his driving test for the first time.
He had been able to spend decades as a motorist without the need to pass a test as he had taken to the road even before the introduction of driving licences in 1934.
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Unc, Wyke says...
11:58am Mon 20 Apr 09
its johnny, Bradford says...
12:15pm Mon 20 Apr 09
By the way Congrats to Mr Ahmed for passing his driving
payupandlookbig, Bradford says...
12:22pm Mon 20 Apr 09
payupandlookbig wrote:Well done T & A for removing the offensive comments - we really don't want to read things like that.
I would like to say a very big well done to Mr Bashir - you're an inspiration to many. As for the idiots who have made nasty comments above, you should be ashamed of yourselves - it's people like you who cause many problems in society today. If you don't have anything constructive to say the keep quiet!!!!!!!!
Dear John, says...
9:45pm Mon 20 Apr 09
payupandlookbig wrote:Dont we?
payupandlookbig wrote:Well done T & A for removing the offensive comments - we really don't want to read things like that.
I would like to say a very big well done to Mr Bashir - you're an inspiration to many. As for the idiots who have made nasty comments above, you should be ashamed of yourselves - it's people like you who cause many problems in society today. If you don't have anything constructive to say the keep quiet!!!!!!!!
ms walker, Round here says...
10:21pm Mon 20 Apr 09
Dear John wrote:No. We don't. Life's too short for gratuitous unpleasantness. Be happy for other people's achievements and it will help you find more joy in your own. Well done Mr
payupandlookbig wrote:Dont we?
payupandlookbig wrote:Well done T & A for removing the offensive comments - we really don't want to read things like that.
I would like to say a very big well done to Mr Bashir - you're an inspiration to many. As for the idiots who have made nasty comments above, you should be ashamed of yourselves - it's people like you who cause many problems in society today. If you don't have anything constructive to say the keep quiet!!!!!!!!
Ahmed!
Dear John, says...
10:33pm Mon 20 Apr 09
ms walker wrote:Well done indeed Mr Ahmed! but some of the posts removed were in no way offensive, and when two of the people involved asked why their posts were removed those posts were removed as well.
Dear John wrote:No. We don't. Life's too short for gratuitous unpleasantness. Be happy for other people's achievements and it will help you find more joy in your own. Well done Mr
payupandlookbig wrote:Dont we?
payupandlookbig wrote:Well done T & A for removing the offensive comments - we really don't want to read things like that.
I would like to say a very big well done to Mr Bashir - you're an inspiration to many. As for the idiots who have made nasty comments above, you should be ashamed of yourselves - it's people like you who cause many problems in society today. If you don't have anything constructive to say the keep quiet!!!!!!!!
Ahmed!
These were NOT the usual (yourself for instance) frequently censored posters.
ms walker, Round here says...
11:04pm Mon 20 Apr 09
My posts have only ever been removed when they have referred to a previous (offensive) post, which is probably why some contributions to this thread have been removed - not because they themselves were offensive but because they challenged something else that was.
I do not like offensive, malicious or defamatory posts from other people, as you well know, and therefore try to avoid such comments myself, even in the face of intense bigotry and provocation... So be a dear, John, and stop trying to wind me up...
Dear John, says...
6:38am Tue 21 Apr 09
ms walker wrote:Twice? more like twenty!
Strange that you've been suspended twice in the time I've been posting, Sentinel, and yet I've never had to change my name... ;-)
My posts have only ever been removed when they have referred to a previous (offensive) post, which is probably why some contributions to this thread have been removed - not because they themselves were offensive but because they challenged something else that was.
I do not like offensive, malicious or defamatory posts from other people, as you well know, and therefore try to avoid such comments myself, even in the face of intense bigotry and provocation... So be a dear, John, and stop trying to wind me up...
But the fact still remains that posts of a none offensive nature have been removed from this thread.
sentinel, the north says...
12:41pm Tue 21 Apr 09
ms walker wrote:Why mention me?
Strange that you've been suspended twice in the time I've been posting, Sentinel, and yet I've never had to change my name... ;-)
My posts have only ever been removed when they have referred to a previous (offensive) post, which is probably why some contributions to this thread have been removed - not because they themselves were offensive but because they challenged something else that was.
I do not like offensive, malicious or defamatory posts from other people, as you well know, and therefore try to avoid such comments myself, even in the face of intense bigotry and provocation... So be a dear, John, and stop trying to wind me up...
Well done Mr Ahmed enjoy your new found freedom.
Bashir Ahmed can throw away his L-plates
New driver Bashir Ahmed with grandchildren Hassan, four, (front), and, back from left, Iqra, eight, Inaaya, two, and Imaan, nine
Bashir adjusts his mirror
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blantyrelass, Ilkley says...
11:07am Mon 20 Apr 09
A lovely positive story for a Monday morning. Well done!