Watch Motorist Drive In Reverse Gear Along Busy Highway [VIDEO]

A Kenyan motorist showed daredevil skills by driving in reverse gear along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway all the way to Naivasha town, ignoring the presence of traffic police officers.

In an undated video shared on Sunday, August 13 and seen by Viral Tea, the motorist, driving a Nissan Juke, was seen reversing with determination on the lane where another motorist was driving while filming the proceedings, with hazard indicators on to alert other motorists, even those driving in the opposite direction.

Ahead of him were traffic officers waving him to stop his car at two different roadblocks, but the driver did not heed their demands, with one officer whacking the vehicle's chassis in an angry response to the driver refusing to heed to their demands.

The driver went on to overtake other cars, including trailers plying the road, potentially putting the lives of himself and other road users at risk.

Here is the video:

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While approaching Naivasha town, the driver kept reversing but his navigation of the busy road was tougher given that he had to be watchful of bends and speed bumps, as well as pedestrians crisscrossing the road at the edge of the populous town as residents stood on the side, watching in bewilderment.

The clip sparked mixed reactions on social media, with many praising the driver for his reversing skills along a road that has witnessed numerous accidents in the past.

Driving In Reverse Gear

Most people drive in reverse gear occasionally such as when backing out of a parking spot, garage, or parallel parking. In most cases, the car moves in reverse gear only for a short time. 

According to the Car From Japan website, driving backwards in reverse gear is similar to driving forward in first gear. If your car runs on an automatic transmission, it will automatically move to higher gears with the increase in speed.

As the reverse has only one gear, you have to maintain a certain speed to keep the vehicle running in reverse mode. So, it can be said that even if the car moves in reverse gear as long as you want, you have to drive it within a specific speed limit.

A car is not designed to drive backwards, that is, the single reverse gear is there to give your vehicle adequate torque at low speeds so it moves from a standstill. A car's engine and other components are compatible with driving in reverse gear for an extended time or higher speeds.

In reverse gear, a car is only capable of reaching perhaps 50 km/h at the redline of the rev counter; it’s the equivalent of first gear but in reverse. In stop/start traffic in the city, this is less of an issue, but on the open road, you would become a slow-moving hazard for other drivers to negotiate.

The durability and resilience of the reverse gear are much less than what the gears and bearings of the forward gears can endure. Normally, you spend only a fraction of time in reverse, meaning driving in that mode for a long time will put stress on the reverse gear components.

The car will make more sound and generate more heat in that condition. What is worse, the car won’t release much heat in reverse mode, leading to the overheating of inner components.

The engine is going to be another area of concern. There is only one reverse gear, which means that you are driving the car constantly in the first gear.

An automatic car engaged in reverse gear. /FILE

Running a large distance in reverse means the Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) will go up, causing overheating of engine components. It will lead to serious damage to and failure of the valve train, piston rings, camshafts, and more parts and eventually, the engine will fail and the gearbox will be broken.

Instances Making You Drive In Reverse Instead of Forward

There are however instances where an automatic vehicle will fail to move on the drive gear, but move on the reverse gear. 

Transmission is most likely to be the culprit for the car won't move in drive but will in reverse. When the vehicle does not function in one or more gears, you should check the gear shifter. 

The gear cable could be stretched further than the normal length and requires adjusting. The failure of some internal components can be the cause too. The car will reverse but not go forward because of worn-out solenoids, clutches, or gears.

Other issues include a faulty speed sensor as well as incorrect air-fuel ratio in the cylinders of the engine which can cause problems with the production of proper combustion and keeping the vehicle moving smoothly. 

A faulty Engine Control Unit (ECU) (a tiny device that controls several tasks in your vehicle) may display erroneous warnings, causing your car to not perform properly, including in-drive performance. 

If your vehicle does not move in drive but does so in reverse, you may have a sliding clutch, which causes engine engagement and disengagement. A sliding clutch indicates that little or no power is being transferred to the wheels, resulting in the vehicle not moving.