Why the DMV (at least in California) Sucks
In summary: The California DMV absolutely sucks.
To be fair, some of the issues today were not on my behalf or the behalf of the California DMV. Nevertheless, I expected to walk in and get my Learner's Permit in 30 minutes. Instead, a whole host of surprises waited for me-- I achieved my objective a whole three and a half hours after I started.
There are two DMV offices near I live, of which I had an appointment at one of them to apply for a Learner's Permit in California and take the written exam. I get there and it goes smoothly until I am told that the camera does not work. I do not understand why they cannot use a cell phone photo, but the camera at the DMV does not work, and they need your photograph so you can take the exam, so I can only get this permit if I go to a different DMV.
After a long drive to the other side of town where the other DMV is, I walk into a line nearly out the door-- at least 25 people in front of me. I did not have an appointment and the appointment I had at the other DMV would not carry over. That is, unless, I had chosen to authenticate the application there and just take the test at the other DMV. Instead, I did not do that because the first DMV did not clearly communicate what exactly would happen, and in my confusion, I departed for the other DMV.
At the DMV, the system by which they call numbers is harsh and cruel. The system shows prejudice towards no one, so those with appointments obviously go first. They should just assign people numbers-- no, instead they assign you a letter and a number, separated by what exactly the person wants to do and if that person has an appointment. I get G116. The number that was just called when I arrived at the desk after waiting in line was G081. It was going to be a long wait made even longer by the fact that they always call people with A, B, and F letters in a seemingly random, yet not random, order.
At long last, after a 30 minute wait (not bad for DMVs in California), I get a window only to realize that the agent there is working with someone else. I'm still not sure why, but the fact that the system gave me an occupied window makes me angry.
The process goes flawlessly, I get in line for the camera (which worked!), and then start taking the written exam. My father failed it in the late 1990s (he had to take it when he moved to California) and I was doing well. Of the first thirty questions, I only got one wrong. It's a 46 question test and you can pass with 8 incorrect answers. Yet this is where everything had to fall apart.
On the 31st question, the touchscreen computer with which I am taking the exam stops working. It allows me to select an answer to the question but not to continue further with the test. I am told to move to another computer, but on every computer I try, it refuses to accept my fingerprint because the test is supposedly in progress. So I must wait in line to see the technician which happens to be ten people long. Additionally, at this point, I am not allowed to have a cell phone due to the written test, so I am left with nothing to do but wait.
I got to the front of the line. The technician refers me to someone else for time-saving purposes, and this person recommends the same thing that I did that failed-- try again on another computer. It fails again. And again. And again. It says in the test instructions that if you do not answer a question in seven minutes, it counts as a failure. I start to worry that my test is a failure because of a computer glitch.
This time, knowing that I already waited in line, the exam supervisors very graciously allow me to cut the five people in line. She says that they will invalidate the computer exam and that I will take a print one. In other words, I very nearly passed and had to take the exam all over again. After several more minutes of waiting, I finally received the paper exam.
I sat down and passed it-- I did so well that the DMV worker who graded my test couldn't believe how well I did. Of the 46 questions, I correctly answered 45 (the same score I would have had if my streak continued on the computer), of which the only one I missed was about the punishment for trying to run away from a peace officer. What is annoying is that it took an extra hour of waiting.
At long last, I get the permit. DMV, you suck.
And for one last stroke of luck, under California law, it is invalid until after its bearer has completed his/her first driving lesson with a professional instructor. I have no problem with this law-- I think it is appropriate and necessary to stop untrained drivers from getting onto the road as soon as they get the permit. I try to book a lesson at the local driving school. They have none available for ten days and the first one I can get that fits with my schedule is fifteen days from now. So despite all the chaos that unfolded in front of my eyes at two DMV field offices, I still have to wait two weeks to bear any fruit from my Learner's Permit.
This is not a formal rant against California's Department of Motor Vehicles. I am very grateful that they allow you to very gradually start driving at the age of fifteen and one half. Very few of my friends can currently drive so I will have some unique experiences behind the wheel. In some states, such as Massachusetts, you have to be sixteen to get behind the wheel, and in Colorado, where some friends live, you must be fifteen but it takes a full year with a permit to get a license instead of six months. Overall, despite all the delays and machine failures, I think all that I did today was worth it. Spending three hours in line for the ability to drive is no bad deal. Despite my terrible experience, I am grateful for the DMV for allowing me to take the wheel (soon) and start driving.
Nathan
To be fair, some of the issues today were not on my behalf or the behalf of the California DMV. Nevertheless, I expected to walk in and get my Learner's Permit in 30 minutes. Instead, a whole host of surprises waited for me-- I achieved my objective a whole three and a half hours after I started.
There are two DMV offices near I live, of which I had an appointment at one of them to apply for a Learner's Permit in California and take the written exam. I get there and it goes smoothly until I am told that the camera does not work. I do not understand why they cannot use a cell phone photo, but the camera at the DMV does not work, and they need your photograph so you can take the exam, so I can only get this permit if I go to a different DMV.
After a long drive to the other side of town where the other DMV is, I walk into a line nearly out the door-- at least 25 people in front of me. I did not have an appointment and the appointment I had at the other DMV would not carry over. That is, unless, I had chosen to authenticate the application there and just take the test at the other DMV. Instead, I did not do that because the first DMV did not clearly communicate what exactly would happen, and in my confusion, I departed for the other DMV.
At the DMV, the system by which they call numbers is harsh and cruel. The system shows prejudice towards no one, so those with appointments obviously go first. They should just assign people numbers-- no, instead they assign you a letter and a number, separated by what exactly the person wants to do and if that person has an appointment. I get G116. The number that was just called when I arrived at the desk after waiting in line was G081. It was going to be a long wait made even longer by the fact that they always call people with A, B, and F letters in a seemingly random, yet not random, order.
At long last, after a 30 minute wait (not bad for DMVs in California), I get a window only to realize that the agent there is working with someone else. I'm still not sure why, but the fact that the system gave me an occupied window makes me angry.
The process goes flawlessly, I get in line for the camera (which worked!), and then start taking the written exam. My father failed it in the late 1990s (he had to take it when he moved to California) and I was doing well. Of the first thirty questions, I only got one wrong. It's a 46 question test and you can pass with 8 incorrect answers. Yet this is where everything had to fall apart.
On the 31st question, the touchscreen computer with which I am taking the exam stops working. It allows me to select an answer to the question but not to continue further with the test. I am told to move to another computer, but on every computer I try, it refuses to accept my fingerprint because the test is supposedly in progress. So I must wait in line to see the technician which happens to be ten people long. Additionally, at this point, I am not allowed to have a cell phone due to the written test, so I am left with nothing to do but wait.
I got to the front of the line. The technician refers me to someone else for time-saving purposes, and this person recommends the same thing that I did that failed-- try again on another computer. It fails again. And again. And again. It says in the test instructions that if you do not answer a question in seven minutes, it counts as a failure. I start to worry that my test is a failure because of a computer glitch.
This time, knowing that I already waited in line, the exam supervisors very graciously allow me to cut the five people in line. She says that they will invalidate the computer exam and that I will take a print one. In other words, I very nearly passed and had to take the exam all over again. After several more minutes of waiting, I finally received the paper exam.
I sat down and passed it-- I did so well that the DMV worker who graded my test couldn't believe how well I did. Of the 46 questions, I correctly answered 45 (the same score I would have had if my streak continued on the computer), of which the only one I missed was about the punishment for trying to run away from a peace officer. What is annoying is that it took an extra hour of waiting.
At long last, I get the permit. DMV, you suck.
And for one last stroke of luck, under California law, it is invalid until after its bearer has completed his/her first driving lesson with a professional instructor. I have no problem with this law-- I think it is appropriate and necessary to stop untrained drivers from getting onto the road as soon as they get the permit. I try to book a lesson at the local driving school. They have none available for ten days and the first one I can get that fits with my schedule is fifteen days from now. So despite all the chaos that unfolded in front of my eyes at two DMV field offices, I still have to wait two weeks to bear any fruit from my Learner's Permit.
This is not a formal rant against California's Department of Motor Vehicles. I am very grateful that they allow you to very gradually start driving at the age of fifteen and one half. Very few of my friends can currently drive so I will have some unique experiences behind the wheel. In some states, such as Massachusetts, you have to be sixteen to get behind the wheel, and in Colorado, where some friends live, you must be fifteen but it takes a full year with a permit to get a license instead of six months. Overall, despite all the delays and machine failures, I think all that I did today was worth it. Spending three hours in line for the ability to drive is no bad deal. Despite my terrible experience, I am grateful for the DMV for allowing me to take the wheel (soon) and start driving.
Nathan
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