To the Editor:
One of the best things about living in the information age is that in recent years I have been able to handle almost all my dealings with the Department of Motor Vehicles by using the Internet.
Unfortunately, to obtain a driver's permit for my teenager I am required to show up in person at DMV. The three visits I made over the last nine days brought back bad memories of many lousy experiences with DMV from years long past.
My daughter and I showed up at the Lorton DMV only to be told that "The system is down and we can't help you." I asked why that information could not be posted on the DMV website so people would not have to waste their time driving there only to find out that they would not be helped. The employee had no answer for me but did give me a phone number to call before our next visit.
Four days later, our schedule allowed us to try again. So we called the number. We got through after 18 minutes of waiting and were told that "The system is up right now but could go down at any time." We took that as a positive and drove to the DMV in Arlington. After 10 minutes of waiting in line to get a service number an announcement stated, "Our system is down and we don't know when it will be working again." Strike two for us.
Three days later my daughter has some time between the end of school and the start of soccer practice. So I come home early from work and we headed to the Franconia DMV. This time we actually get a service number and waited for 15 minutes before we heard the now familiar refrain, "Our system is down statewide."
I notice that there are security guards posted at each of the three DMV locations we visited. No doubt they are there to deal with customer rage at being forced to be subjected to such government incompetence.
Pat Shaw
Springfield