OUCH!! I flunked the DR's "practical" Driving Test!!!

Woe is me.  I must report a failure on my part.  (after crowing about how I passed the written test with a great score, I figure I full disclosure on the practical test is appropriate). 

Late last week we went from Punta Cana over to the Intrant office in Higuey (nearest regional office, about 50 minute drive w/o traffic).

1. My lovely esposa passed without problems!!  HURRAH!
2. I ... flunked.    😘😨😵🤡😢

As always, there are lessons to be learned, even from failure.  I offer this as advice for future expats that may be taking the practical driving test.  Here we go:

1. Bring your PERMISO card and pre-pay your RD 2500 test fee online and bring the receipt (or have it up on your phone).  They "should" show the fee paid online, but may not.
2. Once you've obtained your permiso online, you "should" be in the Intrant sIt ystem and should (within a few days) be able to log on and pay the fee online.  So, no trip to BanReservas to pay.
3. Wear comfortable (but respectful) clothing.  You'll probably be waiting at least 45-90 minutes.  On a bad day, that can run 3-4 hours -- it's a small pipe, with slow throughput.
4. Bring light snacks, maybe a water -- no food available on site.  Or eat lunch /breakfast before arriving.
5. If you don't like the plastic chairs...bring a seat pad.  I kid you not -- I wish I had. 
6. You may hear from the old heads, or read on older posts, about bringing your own car to the driving test.  NO LONGER APPLIES -- all practical tests are done on the simulator now.

Here's the gouge on the "simulator:" 

1. It is a true "driving simulator," but on the low end of the definition.
2. You sit at a simulated dashboard with a steering wheel. 
3. Pushbutton starter -- you have to hold it in a bit as you hear it crank, then start up.  Hold till it starts, kind of like older cars). 
4. A gearshift that can be used in manual or in automatic.  If Auto, you simply shift to 2nd and proceed.
5. There are three monitors/screens, one to the front, slight left and slight right, to give you a bit of a "wrap-around" perspective. 
6. All the graphics are clear but rudimentary.  It's a semi-realistic cartoon, not real visuals.
7. I had no problems with the cartoon look.
8. But my wife did.
9. Be warned...there is a distinct lag between control application and simulator response.  It's workable, but be careful.
10. The seat is comfortable but NOT adjustable forward or back, up or down.  (that comes into play later).
11. I say again:  THE SEAT IS NOT IN ANY WAY ADJUSTABLE.  You get the same positioning as the 5'3" teenager that was just ahead of you in the simulator. 
12. This may or may not be true of all Intrant driving simulators.  I don't know if they're all the same, or if they have different versions at different offices. 
13. All I can do is tell you what I saw on my day, at my selected office.
14. There are three pedals directly below and ahead of the steering wheel:  From the left, there are the clutch, the brake and the gas (accelerator).  Be warned -- the pedals are much closer together than you may be used to.
15. If doing the test as an automatic (which I recommend), the clutch doesn't operate, you ignore it.  Everyone we saw took the automatic test, not the manual. 
16. I'm not sure why you'd want to take the manual test, given the simulator's other limitations.  So, I recommend against the manual test.
17. For my height -- and I'm only 5'10", the seat was WAY too close to the steering wheel .  And the pedals were WAY too close to the seat.  I TRIED TO ADJUST -- BUT COULDN'T.
18. My right knee had to be maneuvered around the steering wheel to get to the pedals.
19. YMMV.
20. Additionally, the three pedals are all grouped together, centered, with very little spacing between them.  YOU MUST BE CAREFUL TO USE THE CORRECT PEDAL.   The gas pedal is located much closer to the brake pedal than any car I've ever driven; usually, gas pedals are separated from the brake pedal and to the right side a bit.  Not on this simulator.  (Again, this plays a role later.)
21. Again, I'm only 5'10", but I was very much crunched up against the seat and there was very little room to fit legs and everything else.  My wife, at 5'7", fit in reasonably well.
22. I can't imagine what folks 6' tall or taller do.  If you're 6' 6" or taller... I have no idea how you could even function in the test.  Good luck with that!
23. The turn signal is a small flick switch positioned to the upper left of the steering wheel.  NOT the normal turn signal that you can use without taking your hand off the wheel. 
24. Having learned to drive when hand signals were still the norm and tested because some cars still didn't have turn signals, that was not a problem for me. 
25. The horn is NOT in the middle of the steering wheel.  Rather, it is accessed via two paddles on each side and ahead of the steering wheel -- kind of like a gaming system.  Again, no real concern. 

Here's the problem I encountered: 

1. You get no "test drive."  You get in, start the engine, shift into gear and start rolling.
2. The brake and gas pedals are exactly the same shape and have exactly the same "feel" when pressed. There is no feedback in the pedals, whereas in regular cars the "feels" are very different.
3. Given that and the tight quarters, I made the mistake of thinking I was pushing the brake (and I would have been in a normal car), but I was pushing the gas instead and quickly crashed into a building!!
4. Oh, the shame!!!   Yep, got that big L painted on my forehead!  🤣
5. As an additional FYI, my wife (who passed) nevertheless experienced a great deal of vertigo during and after the test.  The simulation is a tad jerky (at least, when we were taking it) plus there's no tactile or audible feedback as you are driving.
6. That bothered my wife for several hours afterward, with vertigo and a headache.
7. YMMV, of course, but if you have vertigo problems, be prepared to deal with that aspect.
8. One more bonus FYI: A student ahead of me failed because they did notice a YIELD sign for an upcoming intersection. 
9. You could argue about the graphics not being realistic, or the sign being too far out from the intersection -- and you'd be right -- but if you proceeded thru the intersection, you'll be crashed into by another vehicle and fail, because YOU did not yield. 
10. I'm not arguing with the test -- just reminding YOU to watch for those traffic signs, especially STOP and YIELD.  You will meet them on the test.

The Intrant policy is just one significant error and you've failed the test: no retries, no restarts and no going back through the queue. Thus, I was removed from the simulator and will be going back later this month to try again.  Oh, and I'll pay another 300 pesos for the privilege.

1. You can make "minor errors" that will be recorded by the computer and still pass, though I don't know if there's some number of minors that would count as a fail. 
2. A person ahead of me had 3 or 4 such minor errors recorded (everyone observing can see the computer report come up on the screen after test completion). 
3. Minor errors would be turning a corner a little wide (but not crashing into street poles, buildings, other cars or hitting a pedestrian) or failing to drive on "your side" of the street.   
4. I didn't see anyone speeding...everyone took the test nice and slow, well under the posted limits.

Now, let me say that Intrant did do one thing that I very much appreciated.

1. You don't just walk into the small simulator room and plop into the seat.
2. Rather, three applicants are in the simulator room at the same time, queued up.  The primary is taking the test, the two others stand beside and slightly behind the testee in the seat
3. If you're the nervous type who doesn't want to be observed...you're out of luck.  Deal with it
4. The good news is that you get to see how the tester instructs the testee and see the controls demonstrated (except the pedals).  You also get a preview of the course (if the testee gets that far) you will have to drive -- it is the very same course for everyone.  (at least on our test day)
5. Personally, I very much appreciated this...it allowed me to see the simulator in action and observe the general testing procedure. Given my limitations in Espanol, this was a very good thing.
6. Unfortunately, both people ahead of me were also considerably shorter than myself.
7. So, I did NOT notice the cramped seating and controls 
8. One of those people failed and one (my wife) passed. 

Okay, that's the entire account, including the failure part.  My hope is that this post will help some future expat out in letting you know more clearly what to expect from the Driving Simulator and the test. 

1. I invite other expats that have been through this experience to add their own impressions.