The Dreaded DMV

One of my most dreaded tasks as a new-state transplant is visiting the DMV. Transferring car titles, driver's licenses, and registrations never seems to go as smoothly as planned. So armed with car insurance, SMOG test results, and of course my checkbook, I prepared for the worst.

As I approached California's DMV, I had vivid flashbacks of long lines, rude employees, and inefficient procedures at the Chicago's Drivers Facility eight years previously. There, I spent 3 hours in line for about 3 minutes of service (pose, snap, and pay). And I got off easy. There was a woman from Poland being berated by a state employee while trying to take the driving test in English (why they don't have Polish driving tests in the city with the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw is beyond me).

From the driver's license line, I moved to another line for title and registration transfer (another 2 hour wait). I guess multi-tasking is not status quo for the State of Illinois. There I met yet another poor soul being yelled at about problems with his title. Being from South America and speaking limited English, I asked the man in Spanish what seemed to be the problem and helped as I could. After 5 long hours of waiting and watching other's being verbally abused, I was free to drive legally (and park illegally) in Illinois.

Seeing as my past experience was a bit traumatic, I approached California's DMV with apprehension (and praying no one yelled at me). With cuts in government spending, which meant cuts in DMV hours, I'd been warned of lines circling the building and astronomical wait times. And with employee hours cut, they most certainly wouldn't be in good moods! Boy was I in for a surprise...

The non-descript architecture, tiled floors, and subdued atmosphere were the worst things I would see that morning. The process itself was efficient, with a "front man" making sure I had what I needed before I faced the wait-time. Once inside, there were chairs (not lines) to comfortably await my turn, and in less than 30 minutes I was face-to-face with a pleasant DMV employee. Name change, written test, license, vehicle inspection, payment receipts, and title and registration were all processed in less than 2 hours. Considering I was getting "the works," this was darn fast by my standards.

So for all those Californians who complain about the DMV, count yourselves lucky. You could be driving in Illinois!