Bay Area teen fails driving test due to Tesla regenerative braking system (this is interesting)

[IcyPeas]

Driving instructors not keeping up with technology. I don't understand how electric cars work so I never knew this about regenerative braking either.. Interesting.

The DMV is now modifying its policies for testing electric vehicles to make sure people don't fail due to the brake system.

GILROY, Calif. -- After an examiner flunked a teen driving a Tesla due to its unique brake system, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has instructed its staff to treat electric vehicles in the same manner as conventional gas-powered vehicles during behind-the-wheel driving tests.

Bryce Rosenblum, 16, embarked on his driving test alongside the DMV instructor in a Tesla Model 3, with regenerative braking activated in standard mode.
...
"Right off the bat, she warns me that the car was slowing down on its own, like at a stop sign," he explained. "She told me that happened twice, before we even left the parking lot, and then we continue on the test. We did everything that a test is supposed to have in it, and then she pulled me in and told me I failed."

The Model 3's regenerative braking system, like most EVs, activates when the driver eases pressure off the accelerator. The system then recaptures the vehicle's kinetic energy, and charges the battery, slowing the vehicle down without utilizing the brakes.

https://abc7.com/tesla-driving-test-bay-area-teen-fails-drivers-exam-california-dmv-electric-vehicle-braking-system/11301803/

[eppur_se_muova]

1. So you can't CHOOSE to coast, even when it makes more sense ?? Dumb design.

Should have a simple 'disable' switch.

[VMA131Marine]

2. The Tesla does allow you to change how regenerative braking operates

There is a mode which causes the car to act more like a vehicle with an IC engine but, this mode does not recapture as much energy while the car is slowing down.

[Voltaire2]

6. There is no reason to coast in an ev.

But you can in fact flip a button and have the car simulate ‘crawling’ like an ice vehicle.

[NutmegYankee]

3. Since I drive stick shift cars, I might enjoy that feature.

It annoys me greatly how automatic transmission cars don't slow down once you get off the gas. I can often slow down my stick shift to a stop without once tapping the brake.

[taxi]

9. Around here there are no hills.

Very few know how to drive by easing off or feathering the the pedal just enough to go with the flow. They're either gunning it to close up the space or hitting the brakes; we call it the accordion effect. They don't drive ahead either. When the speed limit is 50 and a signal half a mile ahead turns red, it's 50 all the way to the light and then a hard stop. The light turns green and it's off to the races again.

In the case of the OP, the driver may have been either on the gas or completely off the pedal - no feathering to maintain his speed. The examiners instructions were not understood or followed.

[EX500rider]

14. You're really better off using the brakes

Brake pads cost a lot less than engine bearings...

[NutmegYankee]

16. Normal downshifting doesn't wear the engine out.

The compression stroke happens anyway - I just allow it to result in less power because the throttle restricts fuel/air. Downshifting (down 1 gear at a time) doesn't harm engines. Making sure the engine is warm before heavy loads and proper oil changes are the main factor for long life. I'm been driving stick like this for over 26 years. I've done 2 clutches, once because the old VW van needed it when I bought it (knew that going into the sale), the other after 140k on a sedan when the pedal was quite high and I wanted to head off a slip. Never once did I have engine bearing issues. Cars I needed to replace had significant rust issues or the electrical system was failing. My inherited 5 speed 1986 Volvo wagon did start to lose compression near the end, but it had 250k miles on it. The main issue with that car was the entire electrical system disintegrated because of a bad choice by Volvo to use biodegradable wire sheathing.

[Victor_c3]

20. The closest I've gotten to that feel is in a Porsche automatic

I daily drove a manual tranny for 15 years until I got into a Porsche with their dual clutch automatic tranny. I mostly don’t miss having a manual transmission and the shifts with the paddle shifters are near instantaneous- faster than a human could ever do.

I down shift and drive it like a manual tranny all the time and when I’m stuck in traffic, it drives like an automatic. Really, it’s the best of both worlds.

(For what it’s worth, I bought a used Macan S for under $40,000)

[MissB]

4. One pedal driving

That’s what it’s called in my Volvo EV. Takes a minute to get used to, but boy I don’t intend to replace the brakes… ever? I rarely used them.

I can switch the mode off, which I typically do when I’m driving on the highway.

[MineralMan]

12. The Autopia cars at Disneyland had that back in the 50s.

to go, you pushed on the accelerator. If you didn't, the car came to a stop. And those cars had internal combustion engines. They had some sort of automatic braking feature.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. I Recall That From The 60s

I'm thinking something as simple as centrifugal clutch on a couple wheels would do.
Once there's enough power to get the wheels turning, the centripetal force could lift off the surface.
That's how golf carts work, but the clutch is on the driveshaft, not the wheels.
Keeping it simple would kind of explain how they could easily do that over 60 years ago.

[MineralMan]

17. That makes sense. I was only like 10 years old, so I thought

it was pretty amazing that Walt Disney would let me drive his cars...

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Same Here

We went to visit my dad's relatives in 1965. I was not yet 9. (I turned 9 a couple months later.)
They didn't have "this tall" thing yet, but I couldn't go alone. I went twice, once with dad, once with mom.
I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
Didn't go back until I was old enough to drive. I took my sister on the ride, as she was only 5.

[obamanut2012]

21. The ones at WDW do (did?), too

As do golf carts!

[MineralMan]

22. I first went to Disneyland at age 10, a year after the theme park opened.

WDW didn't exist then. I've never been to WDW. I lived in California.

[hunter]

5. Do they flunk people for downshifting with a manual transmission?

Or does that not happen anymore?

I took my drivers exam in a car with a manual transmission and the examiner made me drive uphill on a road with a stop sign at top.

Fortunately there was an even steeper hill near our home that my dad had me practice on. Quite a few times while practicing I either stalled the car or rolled backwards a few feet until I got the hang of letting the clutch out "just right."

For the exam I stopped and started on the hill smooth as silk, not rolling back at all. I couldn't have done it any better with an automatic transmission.

[marie999]

8. Many, many years ago in Massachusetts if you took the test on an automatic,

you were not allowed to drive a stick. I don't know if it is still the law, it should be. I took the 3 point u-turn test in a stick shift on Dennison Ave, the steepest street in our town. No rolling back or forward allowed. When I did it correctly I started to breathe again.

[NutmegYankee]

11. My 2019 car solved that problem.

It has a “hill hold” feature that maintains brake pressure for 2 seconds or until the car is pulling forward. Really changed the technique on steep hills.

[Voltaire2]

7. Regen breaking is Not unique to Tesla

Shitty reporting as usual. Hybrids use it to extend their battery life, for example.
Other EVs also use one pedal driving as that is how electric motors work by default. Like Tesla they usually also offer a switch to have the car emulate an ice engine.

[madville]

10. Sounds like error on both parties

They should instruct people to turn off any regenerative braking if part of the test is actually to use the brakes of the vehicle correctly. The driver should know enough about the car’s operation to turn the regenerative braking off after the first warning.

[Voltaire2]

13. Regen is using the brakes correctly.

The problem was entirely on way the test was run.

[MineralMan]

18. Maybe someday, the test will see if you can give directions

to your car and just have it drive itself somewhere. Don't stutter, though.

[MineralMan]

19. When I took my driving test in 1961, my father made me

take it in his 1948 Dodge pickup truck. The one with a no-synchromesh 4-speed transmission. The DMV guy who came along said, "Are you sure you want to take this test in this truck?" "Yes, sir."

I passed. My dad always said, "Well, if you can drive this, you can drive anything."