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A Sudbury teen was surprised to learn he couldn’t use a dashcam during the driving exam for his Ontario G2 licence, even though the device was built into his parents’ Tesla.
Tristan Imgrund said he initially failed his driving test because his examiner said he failed to come to a full stop at a stop sign.
But dashcam footage the car recorded proved otherwise.
Even when the dashcam is turned off in a Tesla, Imgrund said the car is always recording and saves those recordings when a driver uses the horn.
At the start of his driving exam he had to show the horn worked, at which point the car saved the next 10 minutes of his drive.
WATCH | Dashcam footage shows Tesla coming to a full stop:
Dashcam video from a Tesla shows car coming to a full stop
Despite a ban on using dashcams during road tests in Ontario, Tristan Imgrund says the Tesla he was driving for the exam automatically recorded footage which shows him coming to a full stop. Imgrund says he had to appeal his exam results after he failed for not coming to a full stop.
Imgrund later shared the footage on social media, which shows the car coming to a full stop for four seconds.
He later appealed his driving test result.
“They weren’t allowed to look at it [the dashcam footage], but they did find other errors in the test too,” he said.
His appeal was successful and he passed the test.
Imgrund said Drive Test Ontario should review its policy on dashcams, since drivers often use the devices to protect themselves from liability in case of a crash.
“If I get into an accident, regardless if it’s my fault or something may happen to me in my test, I’m able to prove myself as innocent,” he said.
“Or I’m showing that for insurance reasons that an accident that I’m in is not my fault.”
Tristan Imgrund shared a screenshot of his initial driving exam results, which show he failed for failing to come to a full stop at a stop sign. He later appealed the result and passed the test. (Submitted by Tristan Imgrund)Driving instructor says dashcams should be allowed
Tanya Blazina, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, said in an email to CBC News that dashcams are restricted during road tests “to protect the integrity and effectiveness of the test system.”
Blazina added that “while some individuals may wish to use recording devices for reasons such as liability or accountability, these restrictions are in place to ensure the secure and standardized administration of road tests.”
Amanda Lacroix, a driving instructor with the Northern Lights Driving School in the Greater Sudbury community of Levack, said she disagrees with the policy.
Lacroix said the routes used for road tests across Ontario are an open secret.
She said she has dashcams in her vehicles to protect her students from liability in case of a crash.
“Nine times out of 10, the other person’s going to blame the student because they’re a beginner driver and they’re going to assume that they made that mistake,” she said.
Lacroix said she hasn’t personally had to use dashcam footage following a collision, but knows other driving instructors who have.
“It has saved their butt because somebody ran a red light and it was proven on the dashcam that that happened,” she said.