By PATRICK GOWER and SCOTT INGLIS
Ray Mason decided he was ready for a trip into town yesterday - but the big city wasn't quite ready for him.
Auckland police and motorists spent a nervous day on the alert for Mr Mason's distinctive mustard Allegro car, which was spotted driving the wrong way down two motorway off-ramps and a one-way city street.
Last night the 94-year-old Papatoetoe man explained that he had had trouble with his car and ended up getting lost.
"I thought I'd go up north and have a look around - I'd never been to Henderson before - but there's a lot of one-way streets up there and it got pretty confusing."
Mr Mason, who holds a current licence, went out yesterday morning to get a new warrant of fitness for his 1978 Austin Allegro. He then planned to go shopping.
Worried motorists first called police about 8 am, saying a man had driven the wrong way down the Newton Rd motorway off-ramp in peak-hour traffic.
Later in the morning, he did the same thing at the Te Atatu off-ramp. On both occasions he was able to turn around before hitting the motorway proper.
He was eventually found near his South Auckland home about nine hours later.
Last night, Mr Mason told the Herald he had been driving for 73 years without a single accident - until yesterday.
"Some guy in a van cut me off when I was on a roundabout and damaged my front mudguard," he said.
"The clutch went on me early on and I couldn't control the car as well as I usually can. If I stopped I couldn't get it into gear again so I just had to keep going."
Mr Mason - a volunteer ambulance driver for 16 years - said he would continue driving, but would stay closer to home.
Several witnesses called police about Mr Mason during the day but none could provide a registration number, until he was seen driving the wrong way up Nelson St about 2:30 pm.
Police went to his home shortly afterwards but there was no one there.
Just before nightfall, Mr Mason broke down and ended up at a service station about 4km from home.
Senior Constable Stu Kearns said Mr Mason had failed his last licence test but then won it back on appeal. Police would not prosecute him but would seek to have his licence revoked.
Last night Mr Mason gave every indication he would go for his licence again. "There's nothing wrong with my driving."
Wrong-way Ray's big day out
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