A North Bay family is raising concerns about Ontario’s road test process after their teenager failed her Class G driving exam, despite earning a perfect score. The reason for the failure? She took the test in a Tesla.
According to Eric Simard, his daughter was using the family’s Model Y Long Range after their truck was unavailable for the test. After completing the test, and receiving 100%, the examiner failed to give her a pass, claiming the car was “too high tech,” specifically mentioning the regenerative braking system and a green-light chime.
Simard told Drive Tesla in an interview the examiner further argued that she “wasn’t using the brake pedal,” even though the teen demonstrated full control of the vehicle and committed no errors on the test route.
The result was a failed test, leaving the family frustrated and questioning whether examiners are adequately prepared for the realities of modern electric vehicles (EVs). DriveTest, the company that administers Ontario’s licensing exams under contract to the province, does not list Teslas—or any EVs—as prohibited vehicles.
Official guidelines only require that test cars meet basic safety standards, such as working brake lights, no defects, and the ability to disable recording devices.
Simard tells us he has reached out to DriveTest for clarification and to see if the test result can be reversed, but has yet to hear back from the organization.
Tesla and other EVs use regenerative braking, a system that slows the vehicle when the driver lifts off the accelerator, while recapturing energy to charge the battery. This reduces reliance on the traditional brake pedal, but can appear unusual to examiners who are expecting visible pedal use.
Additional alerts, like Tesla’s optional green-light chime, which alerts drivers when the traffic light has changed to green, may also confuse examiners unfamiliar with the technology.
This isn’t the first time a Tesla has been the cause of a failed road test. In California in 2021, a 16-year-old failed their test because the examiner felt the car was “slowing on its own” due to regenerative braking. After media attention, the California DMV stepped in, clarifying that regenerative braking alone should not be grounds for failure, and the student’s result was later changed to a pass.
In Arizona last year, another teen’s test was initially failed under suspicion that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software had been used—even though the car didn’t have the system installed. Officials later revised their reasoning to regenerative braking before pledging to review testing standards for EVs.
If you have had a similar experience with DriveTest, or any other Canadian organization, let us know in the comments below, or email us at tips AT driveteslacanada.ca
