During any high schooler’s tenure, one can expect to have at least some form of driving education. Students are heavily incentivized to take driver’s ed in school, as it serves as the blue print on what driving may look like in the future. Once the school side of driving is done, every student will have to experience another cornerstone aspect of driving: the Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV.
To some, the DMV is nothing more than a small exursion that may last an hour or two. However, some people are unable to schedule an appointmment.
Going to the DMV with no appointment is a grueling experience. The DMV will normally take a while to do anything, typically around 30 minutes to an hour for those with an appointment. However, for the unlucky people who don’t have an appointment, some trips can take hours to even get in the building . For example, on a trip to the DMV during spring break, East teacher Tyler Watts goin in line at 7:00 a.m., didn’t get into the building until 1:00 p.m. and didn’t finish any business until 1:20 p.m. Causing hime to spend over seven hours waiting in line to get into the building and a lot of frustration.
Even though most people are unhappy about a visit to the DMV, no one can really do anything about it. It isn’t the fault of the workers, other in line or even the system itself. The problem surrounding the DMV doesn’t even pertain to the DMV, but to the decision-making about it.
The Charlotte area, excluding the areas surrounding it (I.E. Huntersville, Kannapolis, etc.) has a total of four drivers license offices for a city with a population of 911,311 (2023 census). Meaning Charlotte has four offices for 900,000+ people to get ID, drivers licenses and any vehicle registration done, not to mention the fact that the DMV’s themselves are incredibly understaffed for the amount of people that go there each day.
There may potentially be some form of solace. Being released in March 2024 though being almost entirely unheard of, the DMV has thought to counteract the lines and generally speed up the process of getting a license, renewal, or doing vehicle registration, by installing numerous kiosks located around the Charlotte area, such as on the Harris Teeter on Central Avenue and in University.
According to several staff members around East, the news of these DMV kiosks being introuduced has essentially gone unheard of. Teachers Tyler Watts, Jordan Komito, Deanna Miller and Julia Mercabi have all been to the DMV within the last year. Komito found herself at the DMV for only around an hour with an appointment, whereas Miller spent two hours with no appointment, Mercabi spent around the five hours and there’s the aforementioned seven hour purgatory Watts fouynd himself in.
Overall, the current situation the Charlotte DMV’s find themselvesd in is peculiar. Are they run well by people who care? Yes. Is the system of the DMV fair and smooth for everyone? No. But in the end, the problem doesn’t come from the people running it, but the city itself. There is likely nothing anyone can do to prevent the headache of going to the DMV for anything, but it is nice knowing that there’s alternative ways to get your driving needs done.
