Bhatinda cabby's reverse driving skills win him special Govt. licence!

London, Aug 15 (ANI): An Indian taxi driver has become a celebrity in his own right in his hometown of Bhatinda, Punjab, all because of his special skill to drive backwards everywhere.

Harpreet Dev is so famous for his reversing skills that he has even been issued with a special government licence to drive in reverse anywhere in the state, located in the county's north.

The 30 year-old man's passion for driving backwards started on the night when he returned from a party in 2003 and his car developed a fault, which left only the reverse gear working in his car.

And thus, he 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.

And now, he covers up speeds of up to 50 mph while driving backwards.

Dev is a regular sight 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," the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

He added 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," he said.

But this bizarre hobby has made Dev to suffer from severe neck and back problems.

However, he insisted it was worthwhile, saying: "Achieving something special is never easy. It is not giving that counts."

He has even tried to break the Guinness Book of Records for driving in reverse, but after searching on the Internet he found that a UK resident, John Smith, had already achieved such a feat. (ANI)