My horse from the 80s reverses the tires for backing up, but the tines only turn forward. The tines even go forward when backing up.
Last winter my brother was over and pressed apples for cider and dumped the pulp in my garden. Sunday I was rototilling for the first time this year. The horse pulls like a mule in hard soil and you have to hold it back and dig your heels in at times. Sure enough my feet hit that apple pulp from last year and it was like a banana peel. My feet went forward but I was able to get them to the side of the tines. First time ever that this has happened. No way I would want reverse running tines if I went down behind those old machines without a deadman switch. At least with forward running tines it would not run over you. The tines would outdo the wheels in hard soil and it would launch backwards with reverse running tines.