When, at the legislative level, automatic gearboxes and their mechanical counterparts were divorced on different sides of the barricades, it turned out that the attitude to what happened among motorists was very ambiguous.
Automatic or mechanic?
The obvious difference in the principles of driving a vehicle equipped with an automatic gearbox and a manual transmission is felt as soon as the driver is behind the wheel. The first thing that catches your eye, or rather under your feet, is the absence of a clutch pedal. And the gear shift lever has a completely different location and course.
Whether this is good or bad is a separate conversation. The main thing is that when driving in a car, in the constantly changing traffic conditions, a person does not think about his actions, but performs them automatically, at the level of reflexes.
What follows from this? Yes, in general, nothing special. It's just that if a person who is accustomed to driving a car equipped with a mechanical transmission and three pedals, traditional for Russia, gets into a difficult road situation, he will get out of it quite easily, but on the contrary it will be difficult. That is, it will not be possible to change so easily and painlessly from an automatic transmission to the good old mechanics.
It's all about the notorious reflexes. Because the motor memory of a person is designed in such a way that it is activated just at a critical moment. Thus, having found himself behind the wheel of a car with a classic manual gearbox, a driver who is accustomed to driving only an automatic transmission will probably be confused and, naturally, will lose control of the car, which may well lead to a traffic accident.
What is allowed is not forbidden
To avoid such situations, the government decided to introduce a separate category for drivers who drive vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions.
Thus, when passing the exam for obtaining a driver's license, a student of a driving school himself determines what type of car he wants to drive in the future, and if his choice fell on a vehicle with automatic transmission, then a corresponding mark is made in the certificate.
If in the future the driver wishes to change the car to one equipped with a manual transmission, he will have to additionally pass a practical exam on driving such a vehicle.
If the practical exam is taken in a car with a manual gearbox, no retake is required. Thus, a driver who does not have the “AT” mark in his driver's license is allowed to drive any passenger car of the corresponding category.
