Dark Ages DMV

[Ceir]

Once again, not a sighting of anyone specific, but an entity in general.

Had to go to the DMV driver's license office today. Only a government institution could be so stuck in the bloody Stone Age. It's telling that, apart from the kiosk you get your number out of, it's exactly the same as I remember it being ten years ago.

I can't fault the staff, really - there just weren't enough of them to have more than half the stations open. But some of the restrictions and procedures...sheesh.

- Cash or check only, in this day and age. Most places probably couldn't tell you what a check is, much less process one. I know the last retail store I worked at quit taking checks roundabout 2000 or so.

- Government hours, a whole 'nother rant. Guaranteed to be open when 90% of folks with office jobs are, shock, at work. At least I can get to the bank on Saturday...

- Waiting, waiting, waiting, get through it all, and..."okay, you'll get your new card in the mail some time within the next month." I know it's tied in with a lot more data, but cripes; if I have to get a new security badge at work, it takes less than five minutes, on a machine ten feet away.

Just...blah. Yes, I know many states have online options, but if you're stuck...fair warning, nothing's changed...

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yeeeah, I dealt with that kind of bullshit recently.

[mathnerd]

- Waiting, waiting, waiting, get through it all, and..."okay, you'll get your new card in the mail some time within the next month.

I don't understand how North Dakota can manage to produce your actual license on the spot, other, larger states can't. What's even funnier is ND has enough features on the license that I've had numerous bouncers and bartenders in other states remark on it, and even the people at the CA DMV passed it around because it was "cool", and they can STILL produce it on the spot.

[Headset Hellion]

My state prints out a temp license right there; the permanent DL comes in the mail in about a week. If you lose your DL or ID, you can order a duplicate online and they just use the last photo on file. They're pretty efficient, at least in my area.

[Teysa]

I was so happy I could renew my license online the last time. I think I had to pay an extra dollar or so but it was worth it not to stand in line.

[PhotoChick]

It could be a "security" thing. Not your security but theirs. In Colorado many of the offices in small towns are just a regular store in a strip mall. A number of years ago someone thought it would be easy to break in and they stole a large number of printer from small town offices. The rest got removed and at the time you had to wait to be mailed your license.

[Dreamstalker]

The locations in NM (at least the ones I'd been to) could print the card right then and there.

Here in MA, I got a temp paper one...that said "Not to be used for identification" (I found that out when I had to present photo ID for something the next day; luckily mom was with me and she could use her license). They confiscated my old one, luckily I still keep a valid NM ID so was able to use that. I do still have a valid school ID, but that's not considered valid (as in not government-issued) for a lot of things. Even though it's the state university system so it is supposed to be usable as ID.

[siskaren]

The last time I renewed my license, I checked online to see what kind of payments they accepted and I could've sworn I read that they accepted credit cards. Well, when I got there I saw that they don't accept Visa, and my one and only credit card is Visa, so I had to go back home and get my checkbook because I didn't have enough cash on me. At least the lines weren't long, and my state gives you your new license on the spot.

[EricKei]

This was actually one of the GOOD things to come out of Katrina, back home -- that little rainshower managed to wipe out the local Parish DMV Headquarters office, along with several of the substations. In a striking use of common sense, they decided that they might as well update everything to more or less modern technology, starting with HQ, as that one would be needed first anyway. It changed to a big, open room, with a combined 'cubicle' area and offices for testing/cameras/etc on the side, which ended up working really well.

End result: A setup where you have desks available for something like twenty agents (usually at least half were staffed at busy times), and an efficient routing system was put into place -- My longest wait ever since the rebuild was maybe 20 minutes in the greeter/"what service do you need?" line (it was REALLY busy, about 30 people ahead of me and twice that many waiting to be called up for service after being assigned to a department) and half an hour waiting for my number to be called so I could get my mini-eye exam, picture taken, and license printed up.

Pre-storm, 50 minutes would have been a reasonable wait to get called up to the 'greeter,' and you don't wanna know how long the rest of it would have taken. A welcome change ^_^

[Kanalah]

Oh the stories I could tell...

The worst one was going to get paperwork done for my kids. Being a person with a brain, I go online to see what I need to bring to the office.

Get down there, wait in line for over 2 hours only to be told that the website is wrong, I need a completely different set of papers >.<

Funny thing is, I've had to go down to the department of vital records 8 times to get copies of the kid's birth certs. (Because everyone needs their own certified copy that costs me $30 each time). I can get there right when they open, already have the check filled out and be done in 30 minutes.

[Jetfire]

My province - long ridiculed by mainlanders for being backwards and out of date - can produce your permanent license right there while you wait. They take your picture using a digital camera and then use a special printer to process the actual card right there. It's about as quick as getting a new ID badge for work too, but it just costs a hell of a lot more. It is valid government ID and there is no waiting for it to arrive in the mail. The card itself has special reflective holograms imprinted directly on it before your photo and other stuff printed on it. It was a nice surprise when I moved here and went to replace my old BC driver's license because I had been expecting to be without my actual permanent license for about a month.

New Brunswick has always printed your license on demand. When I got my first one in 94, they were still photoless paper licenses. They introduced plastic photo ID's a couple years later, just in time for me to head to University.

Our DMV's ("Service New Brunswick" offices), do have Government hours (8 to 5)but they also open 9-12 on Saturdays. They also have decent coverage over the province.

Of course printing on site isn't without its issues. I got my license renewed last year, and I was queued up, already having my new photo taken and stuff... and the printers conked out. Or rather the overlay roll ran out on the printer, and the printer/computer refused to acknowledge when it was replaced. Took an hour or so to get our licenses printed out; to the point they almost issued paper temps. (They literally were beginning to look for the temps when the printer and computer magically decided 'hey! let's print these licenses!')

All told, I really don't have any complaints about our SNB offices; no horror stories compared to what I hear (and experienced) in Cali for example.

[drunkenwildmage]

For as long as I can remember, In Ohio you got your Drivers license on the spot. Before they changed it over to the CC type one you get now, you used to have to wait about around 15 mins for them to print it, then laminate it, and was told not to put it in your wallet or purse for 60 mins or so. Now, it's only about 5 minute wait. Depending on the location you go, some places take debit (but not credit) cards, but they charge you extra for it, while others only take Checks and Cash, but also have ATMs inside the location.

[BlaqueKatt]

Egads, try having to get a TWIC (Transportation Workers Identifiction Credential or Totally Worthless Identification Card) Less places to get it(my location is 45 minutes away, I believe the next closest is in another state), your appointment is a two-hour window, you fill out a paper form, the TSA/Homeland Security person types the information in, after every line you need to OK that it's correct, and it can take 3-12 weeks to get it, for the low price of $130.

Why is it "totally worthless"? It's a "smart card" (think chip and pin) with all my information on the chip, however only around 500 readers exist in the entire country, and all that's actually ON the card is a photo and my name.

[BrenDAnn]

The state of Iowa gives you a paper license at first, and your actual license arrives in the mail two or three weeks later. They claim it's supposed to be to stop identity theft-- ie someone going and getting multiple licenses under multiple names in different counties or something. Supposedly, the processing time is used to look up information and make sure the person is who they say they are. I say it's just a ridiculous pain in the ass for all involved. At least the paper version is a valid ID though, I guess.

[Headset Hellion]

The state of Iowa gives you a paper license at first, and your actual license arrives in the mail two or three weeks later. They claim it's supposed to be to stop identity theft-- ie someone going and getting multiple licenses under multiple names in different counties or something. Supposedly, the processing time is used to look up information and make sure the person is who they say they are. I say it's just a ridiculous pain in the ass for all involved. At least the paper version is a valid ID though, I guess.

Your post made me wonder if that's why PA issues temp DL's, too. The temp looks exactly like a regular DL except it has the word, "TEMPORARY" stamped across the front in red ink. It even has the holograms, barcode, and magnetic strip, so of course I was wondering why on earth don't they just issue the permanent DL? After I read your post I decided to use my Google-Fu and find out.

From the PENNDOT website: "To further mitigate the risk for fraud, including identity theft, PennDOT issues temporary driver’s licenses and photo identification cards, which are valid for 15 days, to individuals who have never held a Pennsylvania driver’s license or photo ID, i.e. new drivers, new photo ID card holders and new residents. During that 15-day period, PennDOT utilizes state-of-the-art facial recognition technology, FaceEXPLORER, to validate the individual’s photograph does not match another photograph in our database under a different name(s).

In addition, PennDOT also uses FaceEXPLORER for the same purpose when an individual has their photo taken for their driver’s license/identification card renewal...FaceEXPLORER takes the digital photo captured at the photo center and establishes an algorithm based on an individual’s facial features. It utilizes this algorithm to compare an individual’s photo to all the other photos in PennDOT’s database. FaceEXPLORER identifies similar photos as possible matches and PennDOT reviews the possible matches to determine if potential fraud has occurred. If PennDOT determines there needs to be a further investigation, then and only then, does PennDOT turn it over to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) for further investigation. Although FaceEXPLORER utilizes “biometrics” in its broadest sense, it does not uniquely identify a person like other biometric measures, i.e. fingerprints and DNA."