Comment by rozab
2 days ago
I've often ran into this when using DVLA services and spluttered with indignation. But at the end of the day, these services are fantastically usable (during the daytime) and I appreciate Dafydd pushing to just get them out there!
I got my license in 2015 so never in my life have I had the apparently ubiquitous American experience of queuing at the DMV and filling in paper forms. (is this still real? or limited to stand-up comedy?)
Queuing at the DMV and filling out paperwork is very much a real thing that still happens. It's a pretty different experience in every state though.
Can it not be done online like in the UK?
Usually, but it depends on the state. Remember, America isn’t a country, it’s 50 countries in a trenchcoat.
It’s often a mishmash of services too. I was told in-person at the DMV that I couldn’t renew my registration since I’m not the registered owner of my car. So I just went to a DMV kiosk at the local grocery store and did it there without a hassle.
Yes, with a very long list of exceptions which means that many people end up needing to go in person for common situations.
The queues have been mostly replaced with "take a number" systems where you can sit down and wait... with your... papers... that you had to fill out first...
> The queues have been mostly replaced with "take a number" systems where you can sit down and wait...
My recent experience was: sign up online and get a 30 min window (9:00-9:30 say). Queue everyone for that 30 minute window outside the building. At exactly 9:30, enter and go through the usual queues inside. The advantage is that getting through those queues now takes 30 minutes or less because their length is limited. Presumably we/they traded volume of processing for certainty of time spent in the queue. A very familiar tradeoff for a computer scientist.
The UK has a similar situation for hospitals. Your driving licence system sounds like a great embarrassment though.
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My US state, one of the ones NOT living in the past, does almost everything online.
The only times you have to come in are:
1. for your first license, either as a newly-licensed driver or an out-of-state driver who recently moved
2. if you were bad and broke the law or otherwise had your license cancelled/revoked/suspended
Even those people have to call or go online to make an appointment.
All other tasks from getting/returning plates to requesting a duplicate title can be done online, though drop boxes, or by mail.
I have been to the DMV three times since 1995: once to turn my out-of-state license into an in-state one, once to turn that drivers license into a realID-compliant one, and once to have my fingerprints taken for a concealed carry permit.