The Milford Police Department awarded Buck a special commendation Thursday. Buck was among the 32 residents in the picturesque New England village taking the 55Alive Driving Safety Program, sponsored by the state chapter of American Association for Retired People.
"I've been driving all my life, " Buck said in Friday's Nashua Telegram. "I'd hate to stop. At my age there's not many activities you can do."
The course consists of two 4-hour sessions and covers new laws and new conditions and helps older drivers cope with changes in their reflexes, vision and hearing.
Buck, who began driving when he was 14 and President Woodrow Wilson was in the White House, enrolled in the course because he wanted to refresh himself on new laws and, most important, pass the road test required of older drivers.
Getting a license was relatively easy when Buck first applied for one. He needed only to convince motor vehicle authorities in Fitchburg, Mass., where he lived, that he had already driven at least 100 miles. Through the years Buck has chalked up many thousands of miles, first in his 1912 Buick, later in three successive Model Ts and finally, as a salesman, in 13 different Cadillacs.
Buck recalls the eccentricities of his Model Ts.
"After you had driven two or three thousand miles, you had to take off the engine cover and scrape carbon off the cylinders, clean out the engine," he said. By contrast, driving a Cadillac was a cinch, he said. He recorded some 140,000 miles on his last Cadillac and encountered no problems.
Despite passing his road test, Buck still had to convince New Hampshire vehicle inspectors he was fit. He included reports from his optician and family doctor testifying to his health.
"I thought I knew all about driving, but the course showed me some situations that I hadn't thought about," Buck said. To be sure, advancing age has caused Buck to slow down. He said he avoids night driving but he continues to head for the destination he fancies most.
"He likes to go to the town dump," said his wife, Merle.
Copyright 2000 by United Press International.
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