Request for DR Driver's Manual Electronic Copies?

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT:Does anyone have an electronic copy of the DR/Intrant Driver's Manual and Category 02 Manual they could send to me?  Please advise via DM or whatever, and I'll provide an email to send it to.  It would be very much appreciated.

Now, I provide the following for the benefit of those who might get a few laughs, but also for other expats seeking Driver's licenses in the future.  Hope this helps you figure it out. 

THE LONGER STORY: Lisa and I have just been through a bizarre experience obtaining our DR Learner's Permit (Permiso de Aprendizaje), as the first step to obtaining the full DR Driver's License.   As you [should] know, you need a regular DR Driver's license because once you obtain your Permanent Residency, your US State License is only valid to drive on for 30 more days. 

1. Yes, I know.  Lots of people just drive on their US licenses, and if pulled over don't hand over their Cedula.  Rather, they hand over the US State Licenses and US Passport, skirting around whether one is a permanent resident or not.
2. However, we figure if we expect immigrants & visitors to our home nation to obey US laws...we should honor and obey the laws of the other nations we visit or reside in. 
3. If we were Canadians, or some other nations with the capacity, we apparently could get a license certification @ the local Embassy that could be taken to Intrant and they just issue you a new local license.  That just doesn't work for US Citizens, as our Driver's Licenses are issued by the States, and not the Federal Government. 

We tried for 10 days to obtain the promised Driver's Manual and Category 2 Manual, as advised in the instructions at the Intrant Website https://intrant.gob.do/index.php/servic … e-18-anos.

The links at that website "work," in that the link does take you to another section of the Intrant website, where you supposedly can Register to gain entry to the website and download the needed documents.

1. HOWEVER, that registration process DOES NOT WORK.  You simply cannot register on that website, and we could find no way around it. 
2. Emails and Calls to Intrant for assistance/resolution didn't work.  They just referred us back to the Websites to download the documents.  (I'm not sure they actually read our emails to understand what our problem was.)
3. Thus, we could not download those Driver's Manuals (overall and Category 02) and thus could not study for the written (computer-based) Theory exam required for the Permiso de Aprendizaje. 
4. After wasting considerable time, we figured we'd just wing it.   

So, off we went,

1. First to BanReservas and paid the fees for our 1) Certificates of Good Conduct and the 2) Permiso de Aprendizaje. 
2. Made our Way to Higuey (first time license permits cannot be obtained at local municipal offices when Intrant does a service visit, that is apparently only for renewals), as this could only be done at the Main Provincial Offices.
3. In Higuey, we first went to the CAC for the DR Attorney General's office, with our CoGC receipt, and obtained our certificates in person. 
4. We got lucky -- only one other person was in the place, got it done in about 5 minutes.
5. IMPORTANT NOTE:  Make clear that you need the CoGC for a Driver's Permit application (translated appropriately, of course).  Apparently, it makes a huge difference in which kind of CoGC you get.
6. Then, we went to the Regional INTRANT Office in Higuey. 
7. FIRST PROBLEM:  The clerk at the entry desk undertook to interview my wife and I for our Spanish proficiency -- and finding it lacking, declared we could not even apply for any kind of license until we learned Spanish.  We were peremptorily dismissed from the office!! 
8. Now, my Spanish skills are rudimentary at best.  But my wife has invested considerable time into learning Spanish, and it was surprising the clerk decided after about 15 words exchanged that her skills were lacking. 
9. We were flabbergasted!!  Numerous folks online report gaining their licenses with extremely limited Spanish skills.  Why were we picked on for this unofficial, unstated requirement?
10. Well, we left (were dismissed) and found a quiet place to call our lawyer for advice.  She advised to push through the resistance and go through the process there, since we had already Uber'ed an hour from Punta Cana to be there.
11. So, we returned to the Intrant Office. By coincidence, the self-appointed "language gatekeeper" was no longer at his post -- out to lunch, perhaps? -- and another person who'd overheard our earlier rejection now accepted our documents and put us into the system, and we started the Intrant process.
12. WHICH LED TO OUR SECOND PROBLEM: 
13. Absolutely not a single person in the Higuey Intrant Office understood a single word of English.  Or, at the least, wouldn't admit to it.  The entire process is conducted completely in Spanish with no accommodations.  This wasn't a problem for my wife, but it sure was for me.
14. We were given documents to fill out asking for details on our persons, address, height/weight, color eyes, birthdates, etc.   All in Spanish, and certainly not "tourist Spanish."  But, my wife helped interpret for me, and I got it done.
15. We then had our documents transcribed into the computer system, got fingerprinted electronically (which actually worked surprisingly well).
16. SO WE WERE SENT TO ANOTHER DESK IN ANOTHER ROOM, where we had to complete a questionnaire (in Spanish) on a Tablet. THIS WAS THE NEXT PROBLEM.   I was handed a tablet, literally pointed at a chair for me to sit in, and started the questionnaire without any explanation in any language.
17. My wife had been taken off in the parallel process, so I was on my own here.
18. Initially, I thought that this was the "Written Theoretical Exam"and I meandered through the questions, thinking they were asking if it was possible for someone to drive with or without these problems/conditions, and I answered in that vein. 
19. Luckily, when it asked if I had epilepsy, about question 24 IIRC, I figured out this was NOT the test, but instead a screening tool for medical problems. 
20. So, I had to backtrack through the questionnaire and change many of my answers. 
21. Subtle difference in emphasis, but huge difference in results.
22. Before I completed the Medical Screening Questionaire, my wife returned to my side, and made sure I knew I wasn't taking the test.  Fortunately, I did, so I saved some embarrassment there.
23. And I turned in the Questionnaire -- and I guess I answered correctly, as they didn't turn me away.
24. THE NEXT STEP PRESENTED THE NEXT PROBLEM: 
25. I was again pointed to a seat, with no explanation.  But, my wife advised that I was waiting for the nurse/tech to come for hearing & vision tests. 
26. The nurse/tech came out, grabbed me, took me to a small room with some eye exam equipment and audio testing equipment.
27. Since I didn't understand a word of her instructions, I again winged it...having taken more than my share of audio and visual tests while in the military. 
28. IMPORTANT NOTE:  at least make sure you know how to pronounce numbers in Spanish, as the eye test relies on numbers, not letters.  The thing is, I had learned my numbers a couple of years ago...but must admit, I hadn't thought to keep practicing them, and my skills had atrophied.  So, I muddled through with a very mangled combo of Spanish and English pronunciations of the various lines of numbers.  Again, I apparently passed. 
29. The audio test was the standard "face the blank wall, put on some headphones, and click this button when you hear a tone" type of exam.  I apparently passed this test also.
30. There was a third component tested here...a computer reaction test I think was intended to prove one could recognize visual stimuli and then push the proper button on a very modified, kind of a kiddie's beginner keyboard. 
31. I have no idea why or how, but I apparently also passed this test.
32. And I moved along to the next station, for the much-ballyhooed WRITTEN THEORETICAL EXAM!!
33. WHICH OF COURSE, PRESENTED THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF ALL -- I had had zero opportunity to study any of the driver's manuals, for the reasons I stated above.  We had proceeded with our visit to Intrant in hopes of obtaining copies of the Driver's Manuals there, so I could do a quick scan and hopefully pass. 
34. SADLY, INTRANT HAD ZERO COPIES OF THE DRIVER'S MANUALS ANYWHERE TO BE SEEN! 
35. And questions about them were simply ignored.
36. So, I was entirely winging the Learner's Permit exam, completely in Spanish, with zero prep or study.  The Exam consisted of 20 questions taken on a desktop computer; you had to answer 12 questions (60%) correctly to pass.  All questions were multiple choice answer, three potential answers to each question. 
37. Here's the thing: I ACTUALLY DID BETTER ON THE WRITTEN THEORETICAL EXAM THAN MY WIFE DID!!  Of course, she wasn't able to study in advance either, so may I just got a little luckier than her. 
38. I've picked up enough rough Spanish phrases and vocabulary, that I wasn't totally lost.  85% lost, probably...but not 100% lost.  Armed with that much, I then applied my best test-taking skills to the problem...and managed to pass with 16 correct out of 20 questions, or 80%.  You're given 30 minutes to complete this Written Theoretical Examination -- there's a handy countdown timer at the bottom of your computer screen.
39. I got a few (I think 3-4, IIRC) "sign" questions: "What does this sign tell you to do?"   And you pick the one that does.  I think one question alasked the inverse:  "What does this sign NOT mean?" 
40. I also got some (5 to 6?) THEORY questions, along the lines of "If there is XYZ problem in the roadway ahead of you, what is your correct course of action?"  Used the process of elimination to figure it out, along with those rudimentary skills.
41. There were also questions about various lane markings, and what they meant -- this required eliminating the obvious wrong answers, leaving the likely correct answers.  That's just simple analysis, which you're exercising every day you're driving, anywhere in the world. 

1. Overall, if you're an experienced driver from any Western nation, you probably will be able to pass the written exam -- it will just be a matter of understanding the language...
2. ...and, if possible, studying the manuals in advance. 
3. Which leads me back to my original request....

Despite having passed the Written Theoretical Exam, I'd still like to study the Driver's Manuals here in the DR.  If they're in Spanish, I will Google Translate well enough to glean the important stuff.  I want to ensure I KNOW all the signs and the vital phrases I will be seeing along the roadsides, traffic warnings, etc.  I managed just fine while driving as a tourist, and we traveled around the entire island in our rental car.   

DOES ANYONE OUT THERE IN EXPAT-LAND have a softcopy/electronic copy of the DR Driver's manuals (overall and category 02) that they can share with me for that further study?? 

1. If so, please contact me and we'll figure out how to get it through the pipes.
2. Your assistance would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for your help, and I hope my experiences at Intrant describe above gave everyone a few chuckles.

Best,

Jim Rodgers

ExpatRusher

Here's an IRONIC p.s.:  As luck would have it, that "self-appointed language gatekeeper" was back at the very first workstation, which turned out to also be the very last station where they "award" you your completed driver's permit.  He got to our Permisos in the pile...looked hard...did a double-take...looked up and around to verify that we were indeed for the very people that he had summarily dismissed about 90 minutes before...and seemed to vacillate between feeling sheepish about having underestimated us and upset that we had gotten by his gatekeeping. 

After hemming and hawing for a few minutes, the gatekeeper (clearly reluctantly) handed over our permisos and wished us the best of luck in our attempts to learn how to drive. 

1. I did enjoy seeing his face as he had to personally turn over what he had previously stated would be IMPOSSIBLE for us to achieve.  Yes, he was a bit miffed.
2. And I must admit...I wasn't irritated by this guy, until this very moment. 
3. I successfully drove in numerous countries before this guy was out of diapers!!  I've been licensed in several different countries and driven on my US license in a couple dozen more.   I've got decades of driving experience and did just fine without his intervention.  I've had a few parking lot dings, but no serious accidents, period.
4. Indeed, before we received our PRs, we had driven all over the Island safely and effectively, on multiple trips over 5 years.
5. And if I may say... we did so far more safely than ANY of the DR drivers we had observed or encountered -- language or no language. 
6. You all already know that for Motos, the Traffic Laws aren't requirements...they're just suggestions, and the Motos do whatever the heck they want to do, breaking 95% of all traffic laws/rules/standards or whatever you want to call it. If they're obeying a traffic law, it's just a temporary oversight.
7. Auto-driving Dominicans LOVE to pass on blind curves...REALLY!!!  They seem to consider no-passing double-lines to be an affront to their national pride, and thus to be ignored!! 
8. We drive/drove the legal speed limits in the DR., but very few Dominicans did, particularly on that road paralleling the northern coast.  We personally observed dozens of games of "chicken" played out on DR roads, as folks passed using the opposite oncoming lane...and essentially forced oncoming vehicles to do emergency braking to avoid collisions.
9. I'm quite positive that DR roads will be safer wherever we may happen to be driving.