A teenage boy in New Zealand was left confused and upset after he failed his driving test immediately without breaking any rules of the road.
Seventeen-year-old Michael O'Brien was driving his parents' 2004 Honda Odyssey on a test but was told that he had automatically failed when the fuel light came on during his assessment.
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He was then told that he would have to wait at least two weeks before being able to take the test again.
His Dad, Jesse, said that the car was checked before the test and it wasn't spotted that the fuel levels were low.
He told the New Zealand Herald: "I wanted to see the documentation that stated that this was an immediate failure point. Because it just didn't seem to make sense to me."
He was told to contact the manager to lodge a complaint with Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ), which he did, and after investigation it was discovered that VTNZ's instructor had made a mistake.
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Mr O'Brien continued: "They had talked to the testing officer, talked to the VTNZ Frankton branch and they had found that the testing officer had made a mistake, that she shouldn't have stopped the test.
"He [Michael] had passed the vehicle inspection check, the pre-test check, which is where the fuel is meant to be checked, apparently.
"My issue wasn't with him failing. But the wording around it was obviously not very clear."
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Apparently, the light came on during the test, and went back off again. O'Brien also claims that the family drove the car around for the rest of the day without running out of fuel - this probably means that it would easily have made it to the end of the test with the remaining fuel.
O'Brien added: "It would have absolutely lasted for the rest of the test. From what I know the standard for any car is about 10-15 percent of reserve fuel."
Michael, who is a high school student, has had a couple of attempts at getting his license now. Outside of the test in which he was failed in error, he also failed at the first attempt for failing to completely stop at a stop sign as well as speeding.
Each test costs about NZ $130 (£66 / US $92) but that fee will be waived for Michael's next test.
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A spokesperson for VTNZ said: "VTNZ has contacted the customer and apologised for the error, we are refunding his test fee and Michael will be able to re-sit his restricted license test free of charge.
"But if the fuel light does come on during a driver licence test, the officer should continue with the test.
"It's important vehicles are in a safe and appropriate condition for a driving test and all vehicles used in a driver test undergo a pre-test check."
The O'Brien family have said that they are happy with the response from VTNS, but it will still be two weeks until he can retest.
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Jesse O'Brien said: "It takes away the freedom he was hoping to have in the school holidays."
Brim the tank next time then, eh?
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