Going On-Line to Reduce Waits : Technology: The DMV unveils a video device that allows drivers to renew licenses and take written tests electronically.
It looks like a cross between an automated teller machine and one of those sex trivia video quizzes found at trendy bars. But this device neither compensates nor titillates.
Instead, the state-of-the-art technical wonder officially unveiled Thursday by the state Department of Motor Vehicles in Glendale lets drivers renew their licenses and take their written tests electronically.
Officials say the machines, if they catch on and become fixtures in offices across the state, could in the next few years cut down on the biggest nightmare associated with the DMV--lines. And who knows? Maybe fishing licenses, welfare applications and parking tickets could all be handled 24 hours a day by conveniently located machines, officials say.
DMV offices conduct more than 58 million transactions a year, more than any other state agency. What that boils down to is a frustratingly long wait--an average of half an hour to renew a driver’s license. Although the new machine does not shoot out an updated license, it does provide a quick, one-stop location for paying the renewal fee and taking the test, shortening the whole agonizing process.
“I cherish my time more than standing in line,” said Gary Nishite, the DMV’s director of technology. “In the future, if I go to a shopping mall with my wife, I could step up to a machine and run my errands.”
At the main Los Angeles DMV office on Hope Street, the lines stretched 20 feet to the front door Thursday afternoon and the idea of machines to speed up the process was embraced by nearly all.
“They ought to have them at 7-Elevens,” said one frustrated woman who waited for 15 minutes before she discovered she was in the wrong line. “At least then you could buy a drink while you wait.”
Retiree John Zigler said he would give a machine a try but acknowledged that he is “not too affiliated with computers.” He said he does his banking with a teller, not an ATM machine, and is not a fan of video games. “If it saves time I would try it, but who knows if I would like it,” he said.
The machine was installed in the Glendale DMV office 2 1/2 months ago and has drawn a disappointing 25 to 30 users a day. Other machines in San Mateo and Folsom are attracting similarly small crowds.
Nishite said the machines have not caught on yet because they are still relatively unknown and require a Visa or MasterCard to pay the $10 renewal fee. The DMV will assess use through the end of next month before deciding whether to install machines in other offices and perhaps in such places as airports and shopping malls.
Using the DMV machine is as simple as withdrawing money from the bank: Slip in a credit card and punch in your driver’s license number and birth date.
The test that follows shows quick videos of traffic scenes and then offers multiple-choice questions on a touch-sensitive screen. In one scene, a car slides out of control on a snow-covered street. The machine then asks if drivers must fill out accident reports when damages exceed $500.
Ron Rawson, a salesman from Westwood who used the machine Thursday, called it “quick, easy, completely painless.” He found the video questions easier to understand than the written test and missed only one of the 18 questions.
Others were enthusiastic about anything that could relieve the dreaded wait at the DMV.
“Anything’s better than waiting two hours in line,” said James Delbis, a cook from La Crescenta who waited at the Glendale office. “I hate going to the DMV. Everyone does.”
Abel Gustian, a Glendale marketing manager, closely examined the machine but did not pop in his credit card.
“When you deal with a person, they assure you that you passed,” he said. “On this thing, how do I know if the machine did it correctly? If the machine is there without an attendant I’d be a little hesitant. If it has an attendant, what’s the point?”
To protect against cheating, DMV officials have placed the device next to the information desk. The machine does not replace human contact altogether because drivers must still move on after using it to the photograph and fingerprint line.
There is one interesting feature that may appeal to the most vain of DMV customers.
While renewing, the machine allows drivers to alter their height, weight or eye and hair color on the license. Just call up the appropriate screen, and in the case of hair color, choose from auburn, bald, black, blond, brown, gray, red or white.
