How to Drive Backwards, Fast
You’re basically driving from the backseat, so visibility—to say nothing of driving dynamics—is a bit iffy.
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In this How-To video from our upcoming Cars & Guns adventure, which we put together in partnership with Team O'Neil Rally School and Sig Sauer, we show you what it's like to control a car at speed in reverse. High-speed backing may not be as dramatic as a J-Turn or a forward 180, but it's just as useful.
Discomfort happens before you even add movement to the equation, because the first thing you notice about trying to drive backwards fast is the same thing you notice when trying to back into a parking spot: it's hard to see from what has essentially become the back seat. With any speed and/or direction change,
(Note that it's easier if you don't think of the handbrake as separate steps—pull handbrake to "on" position; wait; lower handbrake to "off" position—but rather as one fluid application: apply maximum handbrake until you have enough rotation, then release. If you think of it that way, you're more likely to keep your hand on the brake, which saves some grasping and mis-timing.)
More How-To videos from the series to come all this week. Check out the full Cars & Guns trailer here, and come back for the finale on Friday, April 21.
