Perhaps it got stuck in reverse, and this was the only way to get back. I know someone who did this, but a lot slower and along quieter streets.
That probably wrecked the gearbox. The forward gears are usually case hardened, which means diffusing carbon into the surface to make them more wear resistant; but this is expensive as you then have to re-figure the hardened gears. They often skip the case hardening on reverse, or at least they used to, which means you only have five or ten miles of reverse driving total. That is usually enough for the lifetime of a car with ordinary driving.
Was it Pippa Garner? http://www.hardtuned.com/feature/htshorts/backwards/PGbackwards59.html
Frack, as a noob I effed up turning a firetruck in reverse scraping a fuel standpipe near the training area. I got stuck doing something like 20 hours of fire engine reverse driving. I can pretty much cruise forever in reverse now after mastering the skill in a big truck, all mirrors too!
It was the only way to rewind time to the juncture point and save humanity. Maybe you people should be a little bit grateful!
Nah, it was some teens who had borrowed a sports car without permission and were trying to wind back the odometer to cover up the evidence. It didn’t end well.
Why wouldn’t the person call a tow, then?
Audi’s come with free road side assistance.
I’m impressed and appalled at the same time…bravo.
YIPES!!! That’s actually a reoccurring dream of mine. I’m at the wheel of a car that’s stuck in reverse, brakes broken and presumably the gas pedal too, and it’s just totally out of control. I couldn’t imagine doing that on purpose but man he makes it look easier than it is in my dreams.
Quite a few drivers decelerated when they saw this car in reverse. I wonder if doing so made it all safer somehow.
In other news “Man drives for miles through L.A.’s busy streets while recording video on his phone” 
Suspending common sense for a moment, is there anything which makes this expressly illegal?
I guess Doctorow made it to L.A. ok. He’s got to get used to the steering wheel on the left, however.
winded
Anyone else wondering why the guy recording was staying so close to the car that was driving so dangerously? Me, myself, and I, I like to far away from people who are clearly not making good judgments on the road.
In a couple of days of driving around L.A., I saw a couple of dozen cars driving down the freeway for long distances with only dealer names where license plates should be, and no temporary tags. They didn’t look like test drives. Late at night as well, when there wouldn’t be test drives, normally. What gives?
In CA, that’s legal. You have six months to get the permanent tags. The temporary registration is required to be in the lower right corner of the windshield, but it commonly “falls off”. Steve Jobs was famous for exploiting this loophole and never having tags on his cars: as described here.
To get a good shot, of course!
Maybe people are buying new cars…
Not expressly, but you could get a boatload of citations.
Reversing for the purpose of reversing is reversing.
Reversing for the the purpose of driving is just driving, which would mean you’re in violation of many codes related to lighting unless you went to the trouble of switching them about. No operable brake light, no headlights, Red lights facing forward is a no-no, headlights facing rear is a no-no.
Yeah some officer with little to do could write a book of 1-2 point citations on this person. But meh, they ought have something better to do, not that I condone ass-hattery on the road.
“Sir, your steering wheel is rear-facing, that’s another unlawful modofication we’ll have to write you up… and sir, this rear-view mirror is facing the wrong way, as are these side mirrors., That’s two more. We’re at what, Chuck, 8 Grand now? Let’s go for 15.”
“But Officer… honestly I was just driving in reverse…”
“Sorry Sir, I didn’t witness that.”
