Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

...they sometimes cause your driver's license to expire. (Not you, Miradu! )

Anyway, the S.C. Department of Public Safety has been under lots of pressure lately b/c of horrible, awful, INSANE lines for license renewals, etc.

So, it took me about 45 minutes today--fastest ever...what is the typical wait in your area at the DMV?

Just curious.

Kelley

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

Depends. The main one for Hennepin Cty (Minneapolis) that I go to runs about a half-hour.

But the AAA office here has a mini-DMV, which is never more than 10 minutes or so.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

Massachusetts has recently cracked down on long DMV lines. When I first got my license about a year ago, I was there for...oh, at least an hour, I think. Recently, though, when I went in to register the car I just bought, there was almost no line at all. Exepected wait time was about 5 minutes, it took more like 15-20, but apparently those estimates are usually pretty accurate.

They let you do a lot of things on their website now, too, like renewing registrations, getting replacements for lost or stolen licenses, changing your address, etc. I think those can also be done over the phone.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

5 minutes and I'm in and out. 6 if Earl's eating when I get there. It's rough, I tell ya.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Hacienda Heights, Ca
Posts: 302

I haven't been in a DMV for about 10 years or so. They send my renewal in the mail (good for 4 or 5 years). My picture is still from 1989 or 1990.

I usually renew my car registration at AAA.

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Bret Snyder<BR>If you don't know where you're going,<BR>You'll probably end up somewhere else.

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

In any boro of NYC you're lucky if it "only" takes you 2-3 hrs. The DMV is criminal, and that's why, like all City / State / Fed. Agencies, they should be monitored by the public via a 24/7 Web feed.
Only when the public PERSONALLY confronts them on the street will they truly FEEL the impact they need to. Otherwise, the evil bureaucracy protects them, their identity, and their misdeeds from justice.

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"Great Spirits Have Always Encountered Violent Opposition From Mediocre Minds." -- Albert Einstein

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

My last renewal was through the mail, but every time prior to that the TXDoT line was at least an hour long.

Now getting a passport is another story. It took about 3 hrs to get mine.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

quote:

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Originally posted by K. Cannon
what is the typical wait in your area at the DMV?

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Five to ten days, by mail.
I remember not having to wait at all when I got my first license, 'cause no-one else was there that day for some reason.

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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

It depends if you go during peak times. One time I had to wait almost an hour, every following time I've walked right up to the clerk since I knew what times to go. I understand that a half hour is the average for the place though.

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Matt Nichols
[email protected]

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

quote:

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Originally posted by Yorick

I remember not having to wait at all when I got my first license, 'cause no-one else was there that day for some reason.

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Hmm, maybe your parents spread the word ahead of time that you would be "hittin' the streets!"


Sounds like the DMV is an "issue" in every state, not just here. We do have the renew by mail thing, which I could evidently have done through my eye doctor as we have some not-well-enforced vision test at the DMV counter.

I just plumb forgot. (And dang-it, my old picture was cute, too!!)

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

quote:

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Originally posted by K. Cannon
Hmm, maybe your parents spread the word ahead of time that you would be "hittin' the streets!"

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hey! I resemble that remark!

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The light at the end of your tunnel has been disconnected due to non-payment. Please remit funds immediately for restoration of hope.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

quote:

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Originally posted by Yorick

hey! I resemble that remark!

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

actually my mom used to drive me nuts when she'd ride with me, holding on to the arm-rest for dear life ... I mean, I wasn't going THAT fast, and I didn't run any lights. and we both lived thru the experience.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

Yorick...

When I first started driving my Mom used to hold on to the handhold above the passengers door so much that I started calling it the "Oh My GOD" bar.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by creole
When I first started driving my Mom used to hold on to the handhold above the passengers door so much that I started calling it the "Oh My GOD" bar.

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Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NC, Indiana
Posts: 465

It took about 20 minutes to get my license here in Indiana. It was terrible trying to get an apointment. But once I did the lines weren't too terribly bad.

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-Vincent

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

quote:

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Originally posted by Vinny
It took about 20 minutes to get my license here in Indiana. It was terrible trying to get an apointment. But once I did the lines weren't too terribly bad.

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Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NC, Indiana
Posts: 465

There was also a driving test. I don't believe I made an appointment for my written.

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-Vincent

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

I am guessing that you were getting a new license--not renewing an old one? We have a vision test,which I passed by squinting up one eye, as my contacts hamper my close-up vision.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NC, Indiana
Posts: 465

Yes it was my first license. And Yes!, those damned vision tests are annoying as hell with contacts!

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-Vincent