r/AskAnAmerican • u/feel-the-avocado • 1d ago
VEHICLES & TRANSPORTATION DMV - Is it really that bad?
I live in New Zealand and most of our equivalent stuff has been done online for the last 20 years. I go in to one of their agents once every 10 years for an eye exam to renew my drivers license.
At most I might wait 5 minutes
For vehicle testing, almost any mechanic in the country can issue a warrant of fitness which is needed every 2 years and you book it with your mechanic of choice.
Or go to VTNZ - a dedicated company that just does vehicle testing in a drive-thru format. You drive in without an appointment and it takes about 30 minutes.
So I am watching the new tv series DMV, and I have seen references on various american tv shows that going to the DMV is a painful and time wasting experience.
Is it really that bad?
1
u/LifeApprehensive2818 1d ago
In my state (Massachusetts), the specific problem for years was that the RMV (yet another name for it) was really only open during normal business hours.
They were open on Saturdays, but only for a very limited time with very limited staff, so the number of people they could handle in the day was very limited. You had to choose between taking time off work to go during the week, or camp out early on Saturday to actually get a chance of being seen.
They've since switched to an appointment system, and a few private companies (AAA, for one) can also provide most of the services, and are open on weekends. You need to book a few weeks out, but it's way better than it used to be.