Government Business: The DMV Example

So I spent the morning at the DMV getting a new drivers license.  I’m convinced that the pain of going through that process is somewhat equivalent to what the terrorists go through at Guantanamo.

[Side note: Yes, I was just getting my "new" California drivers license just now after living here for four years.  I preferred to keep my Hawaii license for a few reasons.  First, it looked only slightly more fake than one I made out of paper mache when I was 13.  Second, I could use it for the Kama'aina discounts when I went back to Hawaii which normally equate to 50% off at hotels and golf courses.  Lastly, I wanted to delay the pain of doing business at an actual DMV.]

First, let me explain that I came as prepared as possible.  I did not need to fill out anything extra or ask where to go or what to do.  I had as much prepared as possible going into this by reading up on the DMV web site.

Just a few highlights.

• I waited in three separate lines for a total of five line waits (yes, you have to get back in two of the same lines twice).
• A 70-year old guy next to me missed 3 of 5 on the eye exam, three straight times.  After the third time, the DMV guy asked him if he wore glasses.  The guy answered “No”, and the DMV guy just moved on and approved all of his papers.  WTF?!
• The only new technology in the building is for security for the license itself, such as a thumbprint reader to put on file or a digital camera for your license picture.  Otherwise, the building basically runs on dot-matrix printers and scan-tron forms.
• Spanish was the predominant language in the building.  They have the written tests in several different languages, but the largest stack was Spanish.  That worries me a bit considering all road signs are in English.
• The only question I missed on the written test went something like this.  “When passing another car on a two-lane bi-directional road, you should:” a) Never assume the car you are passing will let you back into your lane, b) Assume the car you are passing will maintain a constant speed, or c) Assume the car you are passing will decelerate.  I chose B, the correct answer is A.  Let’s just say I’m not an aggressive driver that passes a lot of other cars.
• Forgot to mention that I had a 10:10am appointment yet still waited 30 minutes before I made it to the first counter.  What was the purpose of the appointment again?

If anyone out there is excited about the fact that the US Government is going to be running some of our bigger businesses, starting with our banks and auto companies, please go visit the DMV.  Sure does not get me excited about those new government businesses long-term potential.

No related posts.