To think that anyone who has been driving a Tesla for a while, should have to redo the driving test before being allowed back in a normal car?

Well no, but the OP named Teslas, not me, so that's what the thread is already about.

These are the things I'm talking about. If their car is programmed to brake for them instantly when something moves into their path to keep them a set distance away, but mine's not, they cause me to respond urgently to avoid an accident when they do it to me.

Obviously I must pay attention and react accordingly, but more than ever there are people performing unsafe manoeuvres with no fear, like a group of teenagers on their phones sauntering out into the road, expecting everyone to make way for them.

I drive an EV, have done for 12 years. I rent a car a couple of times a year in Ireland and have no issue at all with manual, nor with being on the other side of the road to home. I miss my reversing camera but can live without it.

Maybe as has been suggested some drivers are just not very good and a decent newer car masks it?

Stupid.

I drive an automatic. Yes it's lazy and easy.

But I can still drive a manual as have been doing fir 30 years. Still drive one every 1 ir 2 weeks. No need to retake test.

The whole point of the manual test is uiu xan drive a manual and automatic. If yiu choose to drive an automatic you are still able to drive a manual.

It's like saying if yiu pass your test but don't drive regularly for x years yiu need to take your test again.

Where do you draw the line though? I recently got an automatic having driven mainly manual for over 20 years and having not driven an automatic for 15 years. It took me some getting used to but there was no need for another test!

Like a fine whiskey, you mean?

I don't drive a Tesla but I drive an automatic. If I drive a manual (which I do every time we return to the UK) it takes me a day or two to get back into the groove of doing it. But I haven't totally forgotten the skills; they're just rusty.

Don't all new cars these days have some of the extras like the cameras? You can't compare anything to 15 years ago really.

I think it would be impractical tbh. Also are Teslas really that different from any new model automatic? I've never driven one.

EV or ICE, it’s EU regulation that means that new cars have lane assist, speed assist, automatic emergency breaking, reversing sensors, daytime running lights etc. It makes driving safer. The UK is pretty safe by world (and European) driving standards.

My car has a birds eye view camera that I can turn on with a button and it’s amazing. Why reversing by craning your neck and running the risk of not being able to see anything shorter than the height of your boot is morally superior of beyond me.

No I disagree. They encourage you to switch off imo and let the tech take care of things.

I think when driving, we should be absolutely 100% focused on the job at hand, and fighting against tech that has decided there is a problem when there isn’t goes against that focus and draws it elsewhere.

You’d think. Yet they can’t even hire enough to deal with the current workload, never mind a huge increase in testing.

Don't most newer cars have quite a few automatic features? Generally I think they make things safer and I suspect most people manage to switch between without a problem.

How weird. Surely there could be more people hired to apply the test.

I don't think it's just tesla. Most newish electric cars basically drive themselves for the most part, and it is scary how little driver input is needed. Mine barely has a single button, everything is voice or touchscreen activated, and as soon as I'm on a motorway or straight bit of A road, it will tell me it's taken over with "acc" and will brake, accelerate, steer, and apart from the occasional "stay focused on the road ahead" voice command it shouts every so often, I find it's very easy to forget you're even driving. Even without motorway/A road driving, it parks itself, maintains an (excessive) safe distance from the car ahead, pulls you to the centre of the road if it's not happy with your driving position and just generally wants to be in charge. I often wonder how much harder I'd find driving a regular car now, as it can make you become a very lazy driver. But in some ways it's also alot harder to drive. The worst part is, trying to turn off all these automatic safety functions requires trying to shout at it, or scrolling through a million different menus on the screen (not safe) as it will reset and add the functions everytime you start a new journey. It tried to drag me into the side of a cyclist the other day as I went to go round them, as it assumed I was veering onto the wrong side of the road! I feel I'm constantly white knuckled, gripping the steering wheel as it randomly decides it's not happy with your driving position and will quite suddenly and aggressively yank you into a hedge/oncoming traffic, depending on the mood. There is also a dreaded camera pointing right at you while you drive, and it will occasionally shout "don't get distracted" if you so much as blink, and yesterday I got "only smoke in moderation!" I think I must have rubbed my face, I don't smoke. Also will not let you move the car without your seat belt on. Very annoying, when I'm trying to move it 2 foot on the driveway to get the bin out.... Buckle up! Because god forbid you nudge it with the wheel bin, it's all lights and sirens and I still don't know how to actually calm it down when this happens, just have to mash the buttons on key fob a billion times. I do miss my old school (80's) racing green mini sometimes!

I don’t know about Tesla drivers, I’d say about two thirds of drivers should probably re-take the test.

How far would you take it though? For five years I've driven manual cars with zero sensors or cameras, not even reversing sensors. I am totally reliant on my neck, windows and mirrors.
I borrowed a much newer car the other day and barely had to move an inch, I felt a bit like a slug.
I doubt the permanent driver of that car would cope well with one of my old things.

Teslas are cheap to buy / lease, and cheap to run when compared to an equipment ICE vehicle, so I’m not sure that comment makes much sense! They are the modern day version of the Ford Mondeo :)

There a very scary guardian article about Tesla cars and unexplained accidents. Just published today. There's no way I would get into one of those cars after reading it. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/05/the-vehicle-suddenly-accelerated-with-our-baby-in-it-the-terrifying-truth-about-why-teslas-cars-keep-crashing

My very average model new Honda hybrid has a lot drive tech - not sure what Tesla’s do - but it was a shock driving an automatic, with parking assist, lane assist, automatic lights, speed limiting etc etc after driving my 12 year old car! I think automatics with all the assistance is just how cars are going.

DH recently had a courtesy car which had lane adjust that kept trying to kill him and crash into cyclists.

The automatic emergency stop feature in my car has been disabled after it tried to do it on the M60 for no reason. Apparently there's a spot where there's interference from radio signals and there's messages online about it. The dealer says there is no problem and no fault. I don't trust it. So it's gone off.

Yes I read that this morning. Bloody terrifying. Very glad I drive a ten year old Honda with absolutely zero automation or driving aids.

electric car driver here. I loveee that my car does all the thinking for me🙈
my favourite being traffic jam assist- great for morning commute on busy motorways with stop start traffic and adaptive cruise control. Will spead up/ slow down depending on what is happening around me. Also steers the car but I'm not a fan of this so don't use that.

Half and half.

Yes but I do think there is an argument for retesting nuisance drivers.

there's other situations too

When I first moved from outer London to central London, I didn't have a car or drive at all for about 12 years. I chose to take a couple of driving lessons to get back in the swing - but no requirement to do so.

At one point I considered adding a friend to my insurance to drive my car - the
premiums would have come down because she was in the police (v junior cadet, about 8 months in). I then found out she'd passed her test about 15 years before, but hadn't driven since. Changed my mind about the whole thing.

I love an old fashioned handbrake. I don’t trust the automatic ones. Especially in an automatic car where you can’t leave it in the opposite gear so it won’t roll away.

It’s not just Tesla’s, it’s all automatics. We got rid of my manual car a couple of years ago when we decided to drop to one car, kept DHs automatic. A few weeks ago we had two weekends on the run when we needed a second car so hired one. I really struggled for the first drive! Granted, any different car takes you a time to get used to, but going from automatic that’s very tech heavy to a manual that’s not- that’s tricky.

if it helps, with both cars we hired (different ones over each weekend) I was ok within half an hour, I found one much easier to drive than the other, the one I preferred had less tech in, felt more like the sort of basic car I learned to drive in.

Manual cars will become a thing of the past though.

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

i didn’t drive my manual for over a year, only drove the tesla. Got back in and drove the manual fine.