Humour
Only in Punjab, You Say? Pity.
by ANDREW GOUGH
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 country'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.
Harpreet Dev of Bhatinda, Punjab, 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.
"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."
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 the 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.
He has even tried to break the Guinness Book of Records for driving in reverse, after searching on the internet and finding a UK resident, John Smith, had achieved such a feat.
"Unfortunately I couldn't break the world record because the Guinness Book authorities demanded non-stop video footage of my whole reverse driving and I was unable to produce that," he said.
He was also thwarted a few years ago attempting to drive in reverse from Rajasthan, in the country's north-west, to Lahore in Pakistan in a bid to promote peace.
He failed because he didn't have permission to cross the border.
　
[Courtesy: The Telegraph]
August 29, 2009