Although the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways allowed the use of automatic vehicles for driving tests, however, it is yet to be implemented in many parts of Kerala. Earlier, a circular released by the centre allowed the use of automatic or manual transmission vehicles for driving tests. However, the Motor Vehicle Department of the state is yet to issue any directive to the concerned authorities in this regard.
Due to this, the candidates who are familiar with the automatic vehicles face difficulty while appearing for the tests. The license is normally issued based on the candidate’s familiarity with gears and other features of vehicles while appearing for the road test. However, the testing parameters are yet to be adopted for automatic vehicles.
In the meantime, driving schools are unable to train students despite having automatic vehicles. Earlier, the owners of several driving schools had approached the court seeking permission to test automatic vehicles. However, the MVD officials are expressing doubts over how the shifting of gears and other basic car features be evaluated if the candidates use automatic vehicles.
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