Why is it so difficult to drive backward in a straight line?
In: Engineering
ELI5. When steering is at the front, the rear wheels follow. Any small deviation will result in the rear wheels adjusting slightly to follow. This is a stable configuration. Small deviations self correct. For eg, if you are constantly off by half a degree, the car continues in roughly the same direction, just slightly curved. Wheels all point the same direction.
When the steering is at the rear, to keep the car in a straight line, the rear wheels need to constantly adjust to follow the line of the front wheels. Small deviations do not self correct. This is unstable. So if you are constantly off by half a degree, the direction the front wheels and rear wheels face will get further apart. Wheels pointing in different directions just gets worse. Car eventually spins.
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