Taxi Driver In India Has Been Driving Backwards For More Than A Decade


Indian taxi driver Harpreet Dev is a well-known face in his hometown of Bhatinda, Punjab, but Dev is famous because, for over a decade, he has been displaying his awesome reversing skills to the wonder of many.

As reported by Tupaki, the 30-year-old Dev has been driving his taxi in reverse for so long that he doesn’t even trust himself to drive forward. And on top of that, he even has a special government license that allows him to drive backwards in any state in the northern part of India.

It all started back in 2003, when Dev’s faithful Fiat Padmini got stuck in reverse late one night, as Dev told reporters, “I was outside the city, I had no money, so I thought of driving the car backwards until Bhatinda. Then I drove backwards and later on I gained confidence.”

As soon as Dev realized just how talented he was at driving in reverse, he painted the words “Back Gear Champion” on the side of the car and redesigned its gearbox to have four reverse gears and only one forward.

Having been at it for a good 11 years now, Dev can now comfortably drive backwards at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. An ambulance siren attached to the top of the car warns unsuspecting drivers and pedestrians about his peculiar driving.

“I take all the care I can to protect the other drivers on the road,” it reads.

Roadtrippers reports that Dev told them, “I always wanted to do something different, something unique. In simpler terms I reversed the complete gear mechanism of the car so that I get maximum speeds while driving backwards.”

And while Dev is a celebrity in his city for his backwards driving, he shared with reporters that it’s a little rough on the neck.

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

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