diff --git a/profiles/car.lua b/profiles/car.lua
index 0252b921c..371740fe4 100755
--- a/profiles/car.lua
+++ b/profiles/car.lua
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ function way_function (way)
 
   -- scale speeds to get better avg driving times
   way.forward_speed = way.forward_speed * speed_reduction
-  if maxspeed_backward > 0 then
+  if way.backward_speed > 0 then
     way.backward_speed = way.backward_speed*speed_reduction
   end
 end