The nearly 40-mile trek down the wrong side of Interstate 80 could have ended badly — for the 88-year-old driver and the people in an oncoming car or truck.

But it didn't.

The North Platte, Neb., man drove the wrong way from North Platte to just west of Cozad on Tuesday night. As state troopers tried frantically to get him to pull over, he smiled and waved at them, ignoring the spotlight they shone into his minivan and twice driving over stop sticks that flattened his tires.

Capt. Jim Parish, commander of State Patrol Troop D out of North Platte, said three things helped:

"Divine intervention. . . . Pretty good work on our part. And attentive drivers."

The man's wife had sent him out to pick up some food for dinner and he got lost, Parish said.

The man somehow maneuvered his 1996 Chrysler Town and Country minivan onto the westbound lanes of I-80 and headed east. He stayed to the right, in the oncoming traffic's passing lane, treating the road like a two-lane highway, Parish said.

Troopers, alerted to the situation by motorists about 7:15 p.m., tried to get his attention as they drove east in the eastbound lanes.

"We were parallel with him" with the median in between, Parish said. "We couldn't go over there. We didn't want to hit anybody head-on."

As the chase unfolded, the elderly man's wife contacted North Platte police to report her husband missing. The minivan involved in the chase matched the one the man's wife reported him driving.

The man was aware of the state troopers, Parish said, but "I don't believe he realized what they were wanting him to do."

The driver had "a few very close calls" with oncoming traffic, but it never clicked that he was headed the wrong way, even after his tires were flattened, Parish said.

After several minutes, troopers were able to block the Interstate at Cozad. They didn't allow anybody to travel west.

When they were confident no other cars were coming, a patrol car crossed the median and drove alongside the driver's side of the minivan. The driver saw the flashing lights and pulled over two miles west of the Cozad interchange.

Excessive speed never was an issue. The man drove between 30 mph and 70 mph during the chase. And neither was the man drunk. "He was just very confused," Parish said.

The man was cited on suspicion of willful reckless driving and driving the wrong way on a freeway. He was taken to the Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte for evaluation and treatment.

"I think some people did a pretty good job of driving," Parish said of the westbound motorists. "I imagine they thought, 'What on earth is this?'"

Once you reach 80 years of age, your driver's licence will be renewed every 2 years instead of every 5 years. You will have to go through a different process to renew your licence.

To renew your licence you will have to attend a driver's licence renewal session with other senior drivers. At this session, you will:

* Have your vision tested — to learn more, go to the vision section below
* Take a multiple-choice test on traffic rules and signs — to learn more, go to the test section below.
* Participate in a group education session — a ministry counsellor will teach a small group of seniors about how aging affects driving, tips on driving and new traffic laws (lasts about 90 minutes) — to learn more, go to the group education section below.

The whole session lasts approximately 3.5 hours.