That’s it, you’ve just bought an automatic car that you’ve been so passionate about for a while. This is a good thing. However, to drive it, keep in mind that you must first pass your VA license. Your classic B license is not enough to drive such a vehicle. On the other hand, the hours of training can be reduced if you have finally decided to pass this course.
Reminder on the VA license. and the restrictive code VA.
To find out if you need to change your classic B license to drive an automatic car, first of all know that the VA license. is a sub-category of this first and carrying the restrictive code n°78.
This additional statement does not allow you to drive vehicles equipped with a manual transmission, but only automatic cars. If you then wish to drive a manual car, your classic B license will suffice. But to drive an automatic car, you will need to convert it to a VA license.
The content of the training to move from a B permit to a VA permit.
To pass a classic B permit, you will need 20 hours of training, while to pass a VA permit, you only have to spend 13 hours. But to change a classic B license into a VA license, you will still have to spend 7 additional hours of training. And vice versa.
Indeed, since July 22, 2019, the government has decided to reduce the duration of training from 20 hours to 13 hours and from 7 additional hours to change the classic B permit into a VA permit. or the opposite. And to ensure no failure for all candidates, this individual upgrade is very important and must be supervised by a qualified driving instructor.
Like any driving school training, the training to obtain the BVA license from a classic B license (or vice versa) includes 2 distinct sequences:
- A sequence lasting 2 hours in an area with no traffic or light traffic allowing the user to understand the operation of automatic cars and the concepts associated with them;
- And another sequence lasting 5 hours for practical training on traffic lanes that present various driving situations. Note that one hour of this second sequence can be performed on a driving simulator.
This additional training of 7 hours in total must only be carried out by approved driving training establishments or by associations whose vocation is to help with professional integration or reintegration. After this training, the holder of the approval will issue you a certificate of follow-up of the training allowing you to pass your BVA license or classic B license.
For your information, be aware that the BVA license is much cheaper or easier than the classic B license even if it requires more skills: that of forgetting the gear change because with an automatic car there is no only 2 pedals including the brake and the accelerator.
But if you know how to switch to different gears more easily, you can quickly learn the classic B license. Indeed, shifting gears cannot be learned on the job.