Heading towards his 96th birthday, the Port Fairy identity has no ambition to hand over the keys anytime soon.

"It's my independence," he said.

He regularly does the rounds as a volunteer driver for Meals On Wheels delivering food and a cheery chat to senior citizens younger but less active than himself.

"It brightens their day a bit," he said.

As one of the state's oldest drivers, Mr Martin certainly doesn't fit the stereotype of geriatric drivers jamming up the traffic.

In fact, he's still worried about going too fast.

"I watch the speed limit. If it says 100 that's what I travel at, if it's 60 then I drive at 60," he said.

"I don't want to give them (the police) any money, so I'm not going to get caught speeding."

The former merchant sailor is blessed with good health and still boasts 20/20 vision.

"I had better eyesight than the bloke who tested me for my licence renewal a year or so ago. He was wearing glasses and I wasn't."

There's another 18 months left on his licence until he's due for another renewal test, so he's got a fair bit of travelling freedom yet.

He plans to continue to drive to see his daughters ? one in New South Wales, the other in Melbourne ? as well as trips to tend his wife's grave in Williamstown.

According to VicRoads there are 9922 people in the state aged 90 and older who still hold a driver's licence, but not all were still driving.

Mr Martin didn't follow the usual path of heading to the local police station at 18 to pass the test.

His first drove trucks in England in the 1930s, then the Second World War took him to sea and when he moved to Australia he rode pushbikes for many years before getting a Victorian driver's licence at Footscray police station when he was in his 40s.

"We saved to get a house first, a car was second priority.

"I waited till I could save 300 pounds to buy my first Volkswagen."

After two VWs he bought a sporty Mazda RX3, but wrote it off during a trip heading back from Melbourne to Port Fairy.

His next vehicle was a Fiat, but he sold it after finding spare parts hard to acquire.

It led to a passion for BMWs. He is now driving his second Beemer - a 318i. It's top quality and built to last, just like it's driver.