Man tries to drive 310 miles in reverse and was reminded of Kitchenhand's late adventure with a Hyundai Accent, in which reverse driving was not done, but the subject came up nonetheless.
Silly Australians--down there all upside down, driving on the wrong side of the road, and backwards!
In years gone by the driver would have been lauded for being resourceful, even daring, in the face of extreme danger; but no - they go and arrest him. It's only the middle of the desert. You might see a car in a month. He could have died of thirst. He probably didn't have a phone and have you tried to call a mobile mechanic lately? 'Yeah, I'll be there on Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday.'
The report I read quoted the guy saying that he was averaging around 40 k/mh but had reached up to 80 on occasion, however the car, an early Ford LTD, kept 'swerving wildly across the road.'
I wondered if a front wheel drive car would have been any easier to steer. Maybe I should have tested the Hyundai.
Just to be as pedantic as Dr Weevil (and since Dr Weevil doesn't know much about cars):
Front wheel drive shouldn't make a difference. The steering has positive caster going forward, but is unstable because of negative caster going backward.
Explanation (including comparison to grocery shopping cart) at http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip3.html
Posted by: steevil (Dr Weevil's bro Steve) at October 7, 2006 11:54 AMI guessed as much, steevil. I suppose if the steering were connected to the rear non-drive wheels, it would be more stable. I mean in theory, I know they can't actually turn.
Posted by: kitchen hand at October 8, 2006 01:31 AMSay--I wonder how he would have done with something like GM's Quadrasteer or the old Honda 4 wheel steering system? INQUIRING MINDS WANT ANSWERS!!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at October 9, 2006 08:29 AM