The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) appeared in urgent need of rejuvenation or rewriting its rules after an examiner dismissed a teen driving a Tesla. The instructor could not account for the electric car’s regenerative braking system.
To show his driving capabilities, the teen would have had to show he could move his foot from the power pedal to the brake pedal, the examiner said in justification. However, that not being enough, she also “recommended” that the teen shouldn’t take the test in a Tesla next time but borrow someone else’s car. “Bring someone else’s that has a motor instead of an actual electric car,” the teen quoted the instructor saying.
His father subsequently appealed the decision, prompting the DMV to let the teen pass. What is more, the agency also claims it advised staff not to have a drive test hinge on a car’s regenerative braking capabilities. Instead, it has instructed staff to treat electric vehicles in the same manner as conventional gas-powered vehicles during driving tests.
Keyword: Teen first fails driving test due to Tesla regenerative braking