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3 Dubai residents in their 90s get driving licence renewed

Dubai - According to the RTA, there is no age cap in granting and renewing the driver's licence.

Age is just a number and at least three Dubai residents, who are in their 90s, have no intention of hanging up their car keys. They were among those who got their driving licences renewed by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in the last three years, records show.
Of the three near-centenarians is Tehemten Homi Dhunjiboy Mehta, a Kenyan of Indian descent, who celebrated his 97^th birthday on May 9 and is a proud holder of a UAE driving licence valid until October 2023. The other two nonagenarians are Kuwaiti and British expats.
"Mehta is very independent and does all his chores on his own. He never owned a vehicle and just drove rentals. When he went for his eye test and the result was okay, his licence got renewed on October 15, 2018," Tina Thapar, office manager at Al Midfa and Associates, the legal firm that prepared Mehta's will in 2004, told Khaleej Times.
But what is more admirable about Mehta, who first drove on the UAE roads in 1983, is that he has never figured in any road accident nor did he incur any traffic violations or fines, according to Thapar.
Contrast this to the findings reported by the Ministry of Interior in April this year that revealed 45 per cent of all road accidents in the country have been caused by young drivers aged between 18-30 years old.
According to RoadSafetyUAE, "the young novice driver segment is greatly overrepresented in crash and traffic fatality statistics. They pose a greater risk to themselves, their passengers and other road users."
Perhaps, young drivers can take a lesson from Mehta on how to drive safely.
According to the RTA, there is no age cap in granting and renewing the driver's licence. Those who are aged 65 and above and wish to renew their licence are only required to undergo medical screening at public or private hospitals and clinics in Dubai.
Since September 2017, the validity of the renewed driver licence for senior motorists is only three years instead of the previous 10. 
angel@khaleejtimes.com