Ontario teen fails driving test in Tesla Model Y despite perfect score: instructor claims car is too high tech

[Redaktion]

An Ontario driving examiner failed a teenager's road test despite her achieving a perfect score. He argued that the Tesla Model Y Long Range she used was "too high tech" to assess her skills properly.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Ontario-teen-fails-driving-test-in-Tesla-Model-Y-despite-perfect-score-instructor-claims-car-is-too-high-tech.1115832.0.html

[heffeque]

"Examiners may not yet be fully prepared to grade drivers in vehicles equipped with features such as regenerative braking and driver-assist alerts."

No, that's not the issue at all.

[Ahab]

Correct, none of them should be allowed to pass. They are reliant on handicaps that aren't present in most vehicles, hence they are not actually prepared.

[heffeque]

Copy pasting from Reddit:

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It wasn't because the car was too high tech. She was expected to turn off an automated braking system to prove she could use the pedals effectively and couldn't. She failed because she didn't know how to do things in the car she was driving, and thus wasn't able to be tested on a pretty important part of driving.

Edit: fixed "automatic" to "automated" to avoid confusion with the ABS that's in most new cars

2nd edit: She couldn't turn off the 1 pedal driving mode that means you don't use the brake pedal at all. This setting can be turned down, even when regenerative braking is still being used. If she doesn't know how to change the settings to turn it off, she also doesn't know how to change the settings to turn it on either.
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So... Yep, article was totally out of context. As expected, failing was totally deserved.

[A]

Copy pasting from Reddit:

---
It wasn't because the car was too high tech. She was expected to turn off an automated braking system to prove she could use the pedals effectively and couldn't. She failed because she didn't know how to do things in the car she was driving, and thus wasn't able to be tested on a pretty important part of driving.

Edit: fixed "automatic" to "automated" to avoid confusion with the ABS that's in most new cars

2nd edit: She couldn't turn off the 1 pedal driving mode that means you don't use the brake pedal at all. This setting can be turned down, even when regenerative braking is still being used. If she doesn't know how to change the settings to turn it off, she also doesn't know how to change the settings to turn it on either.
---

So... Yep, article was totally out of context. As expected, failing was totally deserved.

If it was automatic braking that would be one thing, but I will disagree on the regenerative braking.

Regenerative braking is the new reality of cars going forward, all of them are going to have regenerative braking.

It's no different than failing someone for driving an automatic because they don't know how to drive a manual car.

Not knowing how to turn on and off a setting in a car isn't that big of a deal, if you want to be sure she can still drive the car with setting off, they could have just googled how to turn it off and test her with it off. A driving test is about knowing how to drive, not about knowing every single setting in your car.

So no, it feels unjustified.

[heffeque]

It's no different than failing someone for driving an automatic because they don't know how to drive a manual car.

Precisely!

In most parts of the world, you have to pass your driver's license with manual transmission.
If you do it with an automatic car, you won't be allowed to drive anything except automatic cars, precisely because you haven't proven that you can handle a "normal" car, just an "easy" car.
This can be a big issue if you plan to travel abroad at some point of your life.

Same with motorcycles, you'll only be able to drive automatic (scooters) if you pass your exam with an automatic bike.

No person should be allowed to pass a driver's exam if they don't know how to park, break, etc.
If the car is driving for you, you are NOT the driver; and when assistance fails (which it does plenty of times; unlike ABS, etc, which rarely fail, and if they do, they let you know when you start your car, not during an active emergency) that person won't be able to handle the car, especially on emergency situations.

People who passed the exam with advanced active driver's assistance are basically dangerous for everyone around them, and shouldn't be allowed to drive.

[A]

It's no different than failing someone for driving an automatic because they don't know how to drive a manual car.

Precisely!

In most parts of the world, you have to pass your driver's license with manual transmission.
If you do it with an automatic car, you won't be allowed to drive anything except automatic cars, precisely because you haven't proven that you can handle a "normal" car, just an "easy" car.
This can be a big issue if you plan to travel abroad at some point of your life.

Same with motorcycles, you'll only be able to drive automatic (scooters) if you pass your exam with an automatic bike.

No person should be allowed to pass a driver's exam if they don't know how to park, break, etc.
If the car is driving for you, you are NOT the driver; and when assistance fails (which it does plenty of times; unlike ABS, etc, which rarely fail, and if they do, they let you know when you start your car, not during an active emergency) that person won't be able to handle the car, especially on emergency situations.

People who passed the exam with advanced active driver's assistance are basically dangerous for everyone around them, and shouldn't be allowed to drive.

Most countries do not require you to drive a manual, and those that do still allow you to get a license, just your license would be limited to driving automatic cars.

But issue here isn't if a person can or can't drive without using normal brakes, they simply didn't know a specific setting on the car which there is no reason to turn off anyways. As for argument that well if they can't turn it off than they can't turn it on, it a fruitless arguments because you are assuming they can't drive with the setting off.

The right call would be to either give them another car or let them look up how to disable the setting and try it with the setting off. Not knowing how to turn off a setting you don't need to turn off is silly.

PS Regenerative braking is not driver assist. I agreed with you that if the issue was automatic braking or other assist features, than yes. But regenerative braking is not an assist. It is closer in concept to power steering or power braking.

[heffeque]

Most countries do not require you to drive a manual, and those that do still allow you to get a license, just your license would be limited to driving automatic cars.

That's exactly what I said, thanks for confirming.

But issue here isn't if a person can or can't drive without using normal brakes, they simply didn't know a specific setting on the car which there is no reason to turn off anyways. As for argument that well if they can't turn it off than they can't turn it on, it a fruitless arguments because you are assuming they can't drive with the setting off.

I disagree, a driver should have knowledge of how the car works. In Europe it's mandatory to have control of the cars handling and settings, and even some maintenance and repairing knowledge.
This makes sure that drivers aren't completely useless when the car isn't working properly. I know this isn't a requirement in the States, where drivers licenses are given to children with only basic knowledge.

The right call would be to either give them another car or let them look up how to disable the setting and try it with the setting off. Not knowing how to turn off a setting you don't need to turn off is silly.

That's not the right call, that's the irresponsible call. Driving should be a right exclusively for people who demonstrate that they aren't a danger to others.