Is the automatic transmission license, in Nîmes, about to dethrone the manual license ?

From March 1st, you will be able to train in manual driving as soon as you obtain your automatic license. Free Midi – K.M

Les heures sur simulateurs seront doublées. K. M – K.M

Le délai de trois mois entre l'obtention du permis de conduire boîte automatique et du permis manuel a été abrogé par l’arrêté du 15 février 2024 publié au Journal officiel du 18 février. Une nouvelle brique à l’évolution du permis de conduire.

The three-month period for training on manual transmission after obtaining an automatic transmission driving license is over. After the reduction of the age to access the driving license to 17 years (15 years to start accompanied driving, Editor's note), from March 1, the 7-hour training will be accessible immediately. "This is a measure which aims to encourage young people to take their driving test on a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission", we explain from the Road Safety services. Because as part of the ecological transition, thermal vehicles equipped with a manual transmission are seeing their share decrease in favor of hybrid or electric vehicles, equipped with an automatic transmission. "This will therefore impact driving license training in the months and years to come."

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Excellent news for Charlotte Waroquet, assistant  of management within the Victor-Hugo driving school."I find this really interesting for young people who are getting their license. Until now, many people passed their auto gearbox license and waited for the 7-hour manual gearbox training before buying a car. And for three months (the time between the two, Editor's note) they didn't drive at all. As a result, by the time they completed the training, they had lost reflexes and driving habits. Thanks to this decree we will be able to chain everything together and for the candidates, it will be much more fluid." 

Moreover, on a national level, the share of driving license exams with an automatic gearbox has continued to grow in recent years, going from 1% in 2015 to 14%. % in 2022 (i.e. 219,789 out of a total of 1,577,355 category B driving licenses). In 2023, 28% of holders of an automatic transmission driving license have followed the 7-hour training to access driving in a manual transmission. training for a driving license with an automatic transmission involves a minimum duration of 13 hours of driving lessons compared to 20 hours for a license with a manual transmission. This helps reduce the overall cost of training. But be careful, in the event of additional driving hours this is no longer entirely true. "The hour of driving in an automatic gearbox is 59 euros, compared to 49 euros in a traditional gearbox", warns Charlotte Waroquet.

More focus on driving situations

The success of the automatic license can also be explained by the fact "that learning to drive in a vehicle equipped with an automatic gearbox is less difficult than with a manual gearbox, because it immediately allows you to concentrate on the environment and the driving situations encountered without having to worry about mastering the vehicle controls (gear changes)." A godsend for candidates who are too stressed or encountering difficulties. "The automatic license is easier to get to grips with for our students", notes Franck Westrelin of the Franck driving school , and president of the National Council of Automotive Professions of Gard. 

The content of the 7-hour training course is also evolving. Thus the duration of driving simulator training, previously limited to one hour, is doubled. Another development is that it is no longer necessary to wait until the driving license title is issued to be able to drive a vehicle with a manual gearbox: the driving license certificate and the attestation certifying the ability to drive is sufficient. Note that despite this "we still have more traditional permits than automatic permits. In January 2024, we counted six students out of 22 who had chosen to take an automatic license ", explains Christophe Coustou, the director of the CFR driving school d'Alzon. In addition, Charlotte Waroquet is categorical:  "Nearly 70% of students who have an automatic gearbox license return to take the gateway training to drive a car with a manual gearbox& ;quot;. Which remains less expensive to purchase than their automatic counterparts.  

Automatic transmissions: the future of the automobile ?

According to Christophe Coustou, the director of the CFR driving school in Alzon, ”more than 60% of the French automobile fleet comes with an automatic gearbox. In Anglo-Saxon countries such as the United States, England and Australia, all residents drive an automatic transmission. France à 70 years behind the automobile, and especially the future of the automatic gearbox". 

The main argument of parents for children to take the traditional license is according to him, "the so-called use of company cars which are available only in manual boxe”. Now, all companies, and particularly their cars, are equipped with automatic transmissions, even vans now are .

For this father, there is no doubt, automatic transmissions are the future of the French automobile. ais.

The European Union has decided to the ban on the sale of gasoline, diesel or hybrid engines the horizon 2035, which should push the sector even further. tend towards automatic gearboxes.

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