Indian cabbie drives everywhere in reverse

An Indian taxi driver, Harpreet Dev, has become a mini celebrity in his home town of Bhatinda, in the state of Punjab, by driving everywhere backwards. The 30 year-old’s reversing skills have become so famous in his homeland, he has even been issued with a special government licence to drive in reverse anywhere in the state, located in the county's north.

His passion for driving backwards came about one night as he returned from a party in 2003 and his car developed a fault meaning only the reverse gear worked. He then decided to take his Fiat Padmini, paint “Back Gear Champian” on the side, and redesign the gear box to have four gears in reverse and one forward.

He can now reach speeds of up to 50 mph while driving backwards. Mr Dev is a regular sight – and sound – around the area’s dusty streets, as he uses an ambulance siren to warn unsuspecting drivers, and pedestrians, to avoid him.



“After five years of practice I have perfected the art of reverse driving,” he said, adding that he took “all the care I can to protect other drivers on the road”. But his somewhat bizarre practice has had one side effect – he has now begun suffering severe neck and back problems.

“I do have pains in the neck - frequent pains in the neck - and I have had severe vomiting in past,” he said. “I have got a severe backbone problem from driving so fast in reverse, because my whole body gets contorted.”

But he insisted it was worthwhile. “Achieving something special is never easy,” he added.

With video.