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Traveling forward quickly is tough, even for great motorists. Yet auto producers are beginning to market "reverse speed" as a selling point as electric cars are more common, states Automotive News. Experts think safety should come first, over limited-view reverse traveling at high rates of velocity. Article source - The reverse speed race: A recipe for disaster by Newsytype.com.



Is reverse velocity too unsafe?



On Oct 22, 2001, U.K. stunt driver Darren Manning set a Guinness World Record by driving a Caterham 7 Fireblade in reverse at 102.58 mph. Reverse velocity is just like all world records. They're impractical for daily use. As standard customer automobiles like the electric Nissan Leaf hit the industry, the lack of a standard transmission means that driving in reverse is just as simple for the electric motor as driving forward.



Get stunt motorists in on it


There are a few consumers interested in the electric engine feature that auto industry marketers are putting out there. Still, the average driver probably doesn't care much. At the Goodwood Festival of Velocity in Sussex, England, stunt driver Terry Grant prepared on showing off the reverse speed on the 2011 Automobile of the Year Nissan Motors Leaf because he thinks it is essential. He planned on going over 90 mph. However, festival organizers intervened, and Grant's show was canceled for safety reasons. A world record would have been beat if he could have used only two wheels to climb Goodwood Hill in a Nissan Juke, which he had prepared on doing also.



The Nissan Motors Leaf reverse speed limiter was removed by Grant from his automobile. Consumers don't typically know how to do that.



Importance of speed in emergency scenarios



At speeds over 40 mph most standard automobiles wouldn't be able to go in reverse as an average driver. There are very few scenarios where a driver would really have to go faster than that in reverse, but the electric automobile can. There aren't even many instances where an individual would have to accelerate quickly to avoid an accident. Automotive News states that this is all unlikely to happen.



Parallel parking: A safe reverse driving scenario



‪Flawless Parallel Parking (Everyday Advice)‬‏ - YouTube



Citations



Automotive News



2011 Car of the Year


Goodwood Festival of Speed Wiki



Guinness World Records



Motoring.co.uk



Nissan LEAF blog