A driver who reversed his car for several hundred metres on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway says he did so because his car wouldn't shift into drive.
Police received multiple calls at around 9.30pm on Saturday of a car reversing along the motorway, crossing lanes and stopping halfway up the Lincoln Rd West off ramp, still facing the wrong way.
Footage of the incident taken by other drivers which was filmed and posted to social media showed the vehicle swerving across the lanes without indicating.
Motorway Sergeant Rowan McCarthy said the driver told responding officers the car had mechanical issues.
"He told police the car couldn’t go into drive because of transmission problems, so he thought the best solution was to drive in reverse until he reached a petrol station," he said.
The man was asked why he didn’t just call a tow.
“He said his friend, who had a tow truck, was unavailable,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy thanked the concerned motorists who called police.
"It’s really lucky that nobody crashed or was killed as a result of this, it was such a dangerous decision and put a lot of people at risk," he said.
“If you ever have mechanical issues, the only thing you should do is pull to the side of the motorway, call for help, and wait in your car for that help to arrive."
The 48-year-old man was spoken to by police on Sunday who issued him with a summons for dangerous driving. He will appear in court at a later date.
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