DMV Warns About Long Lines and Waits Again This Week

The Department of Motor Vehicles is warning customers to expect long lines and long waits again this week as both customers and employees continue to become familiar with the new computer upgrade of the department’s registration computer system.

“This is a learning curve for everyone. We urge people to go online to transact any business they can and to take advantage of the extensions given for renewals of licenses, ID cards and registrations,” said DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala Jr.

Extensions began Aug 11 and will end Oct. 10 for these renewals.

Ayala said that the long lines primarily come from employees adapting to changes in doing complicated and detailed DMV transactions. In the no longer-used 40-year-old system, it took an average of nine minutes per person. It increased to about an average of 16 minutes with the upgraded software, updated computer screens and other changes needed.

“Imagine if we changed a computer keyboard design. The change would slow things down for a while until people became accustomed to it,” he explained.

The DMV said last week that some customers waited up to seven hours in line and then closed their offices early on Friday afternoon after employees worked until at least 10:30 p.m. for three consecutive nights processing customers’ paperwork.

DMV said it also found that last week, thousands of customers came into offices and waited many hours, although they did not need to be there. They could have gone online or taken advantage of the extensions. The department estimated that last week 5,162 customers, (32 percent of all transactions) could have done their transactions online and skipped waiting in line for hours.

“In our offices, we had so many people eligible to do a web transaction, but decided to stay in line at DMV, saying they took time to go there. Yet, they waited unnecessarily and clogged the lines,” Ayala said.

“We understand this is a cultural change for people to start thinking about ‘going online to DMV’ rather than “going to the DMV.’ People have been calling for more online DMV services for many years and some significant ones are here now,” Ayala said.

The new online services DMV offers are:

• Improved online registration renewal program.
• Online checks for items, such as unpaid property taxes, lack of insurance, delinquent parking violations, which can hold up a registration renewal and cause repeat trips to DMV.
• Reprints of registration certificates from home or other computers.
• Registration cancelations online.
• Online ordering of special plates, such as vanity plates.
• Online ordering of replacements for damaged plates.
• Electronic notification by providing customers with an option for DMV to contact them either by mail or e-mail.

Some DMV transactions including license renewals can be done at local AAA offices including these facilities:

• Branford: 143 Cedar St, Branford, CT 06405, (203) 433-3258
• Danbury: 93 Lake Ave, Danbury, CT 06810, (203) 448-2964
• Hamden: 2276 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT 06518, (203) 937-2597
• Milford: 827 Bridgeport Ave, Milford, CT 06460, (203) 283-8131
• Stamford: 1101 High Ridge Rd, Stamford, CT 06905, (203) 388-2189
• Waterbury: 827 Bridgeport Ave, Milford, CT 06460, (203) 283-8131
• Westport: 495 Westport Ave, Norwalk, CT 06851, (203) 293-1724.

The DMV website can be found at ct.gov/dmv.