The Driver License Division

My wallet decided to go missing and all efforts to retrace my steps and search in even the most unexpected places proved fruitless. I resigned myself to the fate that nobody seeks and everybody mocks; a trip to the Driver License Division. I was going to arrive near the end of the day and I felt certain that a long and dreadful wait to reprocess a less-than-one-year-old driver license was only going to add to the mountain of hassle that began with that missing wallet.

I worried about new regulations and I wanted to make certain that I had all the proper documentation -- Birth Certificate, Passport, Social Security Card, utility bills and bank statements to prove residence. I just hoped they wouldn’t ask for two forms of ID when I wrote them a check because I also lost my credit cards, work and library cards. Their driver license was going to become my ID. As a precaution, I logged onto their website and found that I could fill out the form online and print it. I also learnt that I could schedule an appointment and avoid the wait. Unfortunately, this was an emergency, so I couldn’t set it out several days.

Emboldened by the favorable website, I made the trek to the office and opened the extra-large double doors. What struck me most were the things I didn’t see. There were no lines. I took my completed application right up to the clerk who assigned numbers and took the never-flattering photo. Within three minutes I had my assigned number and took a seat in the comfortably conditioned waiting area. Even with sixty or so people already there, no one was complaining. It didn’t take more than a few moments to see why.

I counted no fewer than fifteen of eighteen available stations in constant use. With new numbers being called every couple minutes or less, the wait seemed to go much faster than I thought. When I noticed almost twenty five minutes had passed, I thought it had been half that. The biggest delay came once my number was called. My Driver License Division scans the documents they need for license eligibility. The passport went through fine but the scanner stopped working with the Social Security card.

By chance two employees from Information Technology were at the location and came to troubleshoot. It took more than 15 minutes to resolve the error and they ended up replacing the broken scanner. They thanked me for my patience and I offered to scream and yell at them if that would help. With a wink, one of the IT guys said, “I know that always helps us work a lot faster and better when people do that, and it really gets the machines working.” We shared a smile and a laugh.  

Even with the technological glitch I was out with my temporary license in less time than I thought. Maybe government bureaucracy isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be after all.