General Slow ahead in reverse?

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General Slow ahead in reverse?

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I noticed the other day the TA will not exceed 3500 rpm when its in reverse. At first Imthough there was a problem as I wanted to rev it up a bit. Putting it in either neutral or a forward gear put things back to normal. Safety, some neccessary mechanical protection or more EU nannying I wonder. If I want to reverse at 70mph why shouldnt I. OK I know its daft and illegal in the eyes of her majestys constabularies. They might even be right.
 
I noticed the other day the TA will not exceed 3500 rpm when its in reverse. At first Imthough there was a problem as I wanted to rev it up a bit. Putting it in either neutral or a forward gear put things back to normal. Safety, some neccessary mechanical protection or more EU nannying I wonder. If I want to reverse at 70mph why shouldnt I. OK I know its daft and illegal in the eyes of her majestys constabularies. They might even be right.
The front wheels of a car are set up with castor, like supermarket trolley wheels, or the castors on your office chair. They follow the direction of travel. This gives the self-centering effect, and allows us to drive comfortably without constantly straining to keep a straight line along a road.
When we reverse, the front wheels will try to turn themselves around, but of course can't because they are tied together, and have limited movement. Any movement from the straight ahead, and the steering tries to turn more, with increasing force as the steering angle or speed increases. The faster you go, the more force is trying to turn the wheels around, and the more difficult it is to control the car. The speed limiter is a way of keeping the risk lower.

In the past, I've done a lot of autotests, driving through cones on an old airfield, with a tortuous course, and some reverse sections, so I'm quite used to reversing faster than ideal. A few years ago, on a country lane, an oncoming car advised myself, and the car ahead, that there'd been a collision further along, and the road was blocked. After this driver passed me, I reversed up the road, knowing that there was a large gateway a hundred yards away, for an easy turn around. As the road is narrow, she was taking all the space, ensuring nothing could pass her. So I reversed, keeping pace with her. The car ahead of me started to reverse too, tried to keep up, and lost control, bouncing off both hedges. Oops!
 
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