What's wrong with the DMV?

StevenK

ng.com SFII tournament winner 2002-2023
10 Year Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Posts
10,085
I don't know when I first heard about it, possibly through the Simpsons, but for most of my life I've been aware that Americans hate the DMV.

What goes on there? What is it's purpose? Why is it so shit?
 

lithy

Most Prominent Member of Chat
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2002
Posts
22,031
There is a general problem with many government institutions, citizens are required to interact with them because of various burdensome laws, they are staffed by people who are overpaid for the demands of their work, the state employees will just about never be able to lose that job, and they have universally decided that customer service is unnecessary and your presence is an affront to their existence.

Also, it's a trope.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Posts
44,746
I never got the hate for it. You just wait in line and have to give them documents proving you are who you are to get your license. Maybe it's just some lame joke that stuck, like airplane food (which has been pretty dang good for many years now).
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
Thank god you could do DL renewals over the mail now.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Posts
44,746
Thank god you could do DL renewals over the mail now.

Dude, I'm fucked. In Virginia you have to come in-person if the last time you renewed your license was online or by mail. My license expires in October. I can't come home before then. So the next time I come back home I'll be a man in his early-30s without a driver's license. Might as well chop my legs off. I'm dreading taking the exam again, and the driver's skills training.
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
I never got the hate for it. You just wait in line and have to give them documents proving you are who you are to get your license. Maybe it's just some lame joke that stuck, like airplane food (which has been pretty dang good for many years now).

Nah bro, you haven't been to some DMV's in Jersey. I've seen people get dragged out by the police because of wanting to beat up employees behind the glass.
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
Dude, I'm fucked. In Virginia you have to come in-person if the last time you renewed your license was online or by mail. My license expires in October. I can't come home before then. So the next time I come back home I'll be a man in his early-30s without a driver's license. Might as well chop my legs off. I'm dreading taking the exam again, and the driver's skills training.

Just look up DMV'S close to you and avoid all the ones in major cities. There are smaller DMV'S that handle DL renewals that might be a farther drive but will save you having to wait in 3 hour long lines and you might actually get a smile or a hello from the employee behind the glass.
 

Heinz

Parteizeit
15 Year Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Posts
22,333
The DMV equivalent here is just as painful of an experience I can assure you. Kumbaya.
 

StevenK

ng.com SFII tournament winner 2002-2023
10 Year Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Posts
10,085
I'm thinking we don't have an equivalent here, which seems odd.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Posts
44,746
Just look up DMV'S close to you and avoid all the ones in major cities. There are smaller DMV'S that handle DL renewals that might be a farther drive but will save you having to wait in 3 hour long lines and you might actually get a smile or a hello from the employee behind the glass.

Naw I mean the next time I will be in America my license will already be expired, which mean I'll have to take the driving exam and road skills test again. Which is going to be a PITA.
 

Lastblade

Friend me on Facebook!,
20 Year Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Posts
5,840
NYC DMVs are the worst. You have to show up at least an hour to 1.5hr before it opens to minimize wait time.... otherwise 1/2 your day is gone.

NJ is bad, but more in terms of attitude than wait times (which is still bad but nowhere near as bad as NYC)
 

titchgamer

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
May 31, 2018
Posts
1,731
I'm thinking we don't have an equivalent here, which seems odd.

Dunno if its a good thing or a bad thing that we cant just “pop in” to see the DVLA.

Or most other Govt institutions really.

On the one hand you can do it all from the comfort of your sofa.

On the other hand when there is a issue you can guarantee that you get the thickest cunt going on the end of the phone.

I swear if I was infront of the person I last spoke to from the passport office I would of got a 1 way ticket to a Jail cell.
 

evil wasabi

The Jongmaster
20 Year Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2000
Posts
60,434
Nah bro, you haven't been to some DMV's in Jersey. I've seen people get dragged out by the police because of wanting to beat up employees behind the glass.

This happens in Maryland too, in my affluent county. Police are posted up there to arrest violators, and it happens every time I have gone there.
 

famicommander

Tak enabled this rank change
15 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Posts
13,381
My tags expired during the pandemic. To get new ones I had to book an in-person appointment. Couldn't renew online because I changed car insurance providers and you have to show proof of insurance in person.

I booked the appointment in late April. The earliest one available is June 25 at 2:45 PM. If I hadn't claimed that slot, the next available one would be in mid August.

So I'm pretty much just hoping a cop doesn't decide to pull me over before then.
 

basic

back to basics
15 Year Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Posts
4,557
I don't know when I first heard about it, possibly through the Simpsons, but for most of my life I've been aware that Americans hate the DMV.

What goes on there? What is it's purpose? Why is it so shit?

we hate the dmv as much as you hate parenting (going to recitals, helping with homework, providing for their future, etc.)
 

ggallegos1

Cholecystectomy Required.,
10 Year Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Posts
5,153
AAA for your license renewal. Takes 10 minutes
 

HDRchampion

Before you sell me something, ask how well my baby
10 Year Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2010
Posts
4,485
Never had issues w/ the DMV...You can look at the website if its busy before you head out. Usually Tuesday-Thursday in the morning is the optimal time to go. Most of the stuff you can do online.

Its not to much of hassle but im sure you would hate it, like your kids.
 

neojedi

Member,
20 Year Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2001
Posts
3,314
I can give you a little idea. The last time I renewed my license, the DMV said 'that'll be $40 please'. So, I shrugged and whipped out my credit card. They said, 'whoops, all of our credit card readers are broken, please pay cash.' So I checked and I didn't have $40 cash on me. Then, they said 'there's an ATM in the Kroger over there, try that.' So, while all the people behind me in the DMV line waited, I walked over to the grocery store, used the ATM, got the cash, walked back, and paid them.

I'm not angry or anything, it's just that these people are not up to the standards of any private, competitive business (because they don't have to be).
 

Lagduf

2>X
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2002
Posts
46,682
Dude, I'm fucked. In Virginia you have to come in-person if the last time you renewed your license was online or by mail. My license expires in October. I can't come home before then. So the next time I come back home I'll be a man in his early-30s without a driver's license. Might as well chop my legs off. I'm dreading taking the exam again, and the driver's skills training.

Can’t you get a chinese license?
 

Digmac

Leona's Therapist
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
1,966
Issues with the DMV is different from state to state, as well as location to location. Some locations are better than others depending on if the employees actually give a crap about their job and how they treat people. Here in Oregon, I haven’t actually had any issues, even when handling paperwork for a vehicle imported directly from Japan, things went well. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. It’s definitely a case by case basis.
 

jro

Gonna take a lot
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Posts
14,410
My tags expired during the pandemic. To get new ones I had to book an in-person appointment. Couldn't renew online because I changed car insurance providers and you have to show proof of insurance in person.

I booked the appointment in late April. The earliest one available is June 25 at 2:45 PM. If I hadn't claimed that slot, the next available one would be in mid August.

So I'm pretty much just hoping a cop doesn't decide to pull me over before then.

That's wild. Last time I renewed, 2016 I think it was, I made an appointment for the next day. Waltzed up to the counter with the "CHECK IN FOR APPOINTMENTS ONLY" sign, was done in 10 minutes, and glanced at the rows upon rows of people waiting and looking miserable (no appointment). Appointments were the cheat code before the pandemic.
 

famicommander

Tak enabled this rank change
15 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Posts
13,381
That's wild. Last time I renewed, 2016 I think it was, I made an appointment for the next day. Waltzed up to the counter with the "CHECK IN FOR APPOINTMENTS ONLY" sign, was done in 10 minutes, and glanced at the rows upon rows of people waiting and looking miserable (no appointment). Appointments were the cheat code before the pandemic.

Now it's appointment only and it sucks major ass.

Wouldn't be bad if I could do it online, but I can't.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Posts
44,746
Nope, but at least having my American license eases the process here. All I gotta do is take the test, bam, I'm ready to drive like an asshole.
 
Top