Motorist arrested for ‘driving in reverse’ on busy street

AMMAN — Traffic officials on Saturday said they arrested a motorist who was allegedly driving in reverse in a two-lane road on a busy street in Amman

The suspect was arrested after getting involved in a “minor accident because of his reckless driving backwards in a Mecca Street, a very busy area”, a senior traffic official said.

At the same time, the traffic official told The Jordan Times, the video of the motorist went viral, “which helped our investigators conclude that the vehicle involved in the traffic accident was the same one that appeared in the video”.

“Our investigation team managed to conclude quickly that it was the same motorist and he was detained and his vehicle was seized as well,” the traffic official said.

During initial questioning, , the traffic official said that “the motorist claimed that his vehicle malfunctioned and that is why he was driving in reveres mode”.

“Our technicians are inspecting the vehicle and he was issued several traffic citations including hindering traffic and getting involved in a road accident,” the source added.

A second senior source told The Jordan Times that his actions fall under first degree felonies and he will be “referred to the judiciary for further legal action”.

The second source added that this is the second incident to be reported in Amman in almost the two years.

In May 2016, a motorist was also caught on a mobile phone camera that went viral driving in reverse in his Mercedes car.

“That man also claimed that his car had malfunctioned and he had to drive it in reverse mode,” the second senior official source said.

Traffic officials have said recently that most of the road accidents registered in the Kingdom are caused by “human error”, including not abiding by the traffic regulations.