Lochlan Keefer, a high school junior from Cherry Hill, failed his driver’s license road test due to a misunderstanding with the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) over the use of regenerative braking in his Tesla Model Y. The examiner accused Keefer of using paid parking-assist features, despite the car not having those capabilities.
Keefer and his dad were told that they needed to disable the feature before taking the test, but the examiner refused to let them do so after Keefer had already completed the test. Instead, the examiner claimed that driver assistance features should have been turned off, which led to Keefer’s failure.
The incident escalated when Keefer spoke with a supervisor, who allegedly became belligerent and told him to “go f*** yourself.” The supervisor also made a comment about Keefer being a Republican, which further fueled the perception of discrimination.
However, after further investigation, it was found that MVC allows regenerative braking during road tests. In fact, the agency has a policy in place to accommodate this feature.
Keefer passed his second road test attempt on May 30, with an examiner who was fully aware of the regenerative braking feature and had no issues conducting the test under these conditions.
The incident highlights the need for clarification and consistency in interpreting new car technologies during driver’s license road tests. It also raises questions about the treatment of drivers who are perceived to be from certain political affiliations or own specific types of cars.
Source: https://www.nj.com/news/2025/06/my-son-flunked-his-road-test-because-he-was-driving-a-tesla-dad-says.html