Coronavirus prompts the DMV to require appointments for its offices
Q. Can you investigate the possibility of the Department of Motor Vehicles extending the due date for seniors’ driver-license renewals, for which going into the office is mandatory? I find it nearly impossible to even get an appointment. And with the concerns of the coronavirus and the long, crowded lines at the DMV …
– Joan Spence, Laguna Niguel
A. Here is how Tom Noyes of Laguna Beach put it to Honk:
“It is a fact that seniors are the most affected and are dying. I feel it is not in any senior’s best interest to be forced to go to a crowded DMV, stand in a long line, take a written test and come in contact with anything touched by many others in order to renew their driver license at this time.
“I would appreciate it if you raise this issue and see if the DMV will change this policy for at least a few months for seniors whose licenses expire at this time. I need a valid driver license for my work and daily living, but do not want to risk my physical well-being in light of COVID-19.”
Monday night, the DMV announced in a statement that it is asking “law enforcement to exercise discretion for 60 days in their enforcement of driver license and vehicle registration expiration dates. … The DMV is taking this action so that at-risk populations, including seniors and those with underlying health conditions, can avoid required visits to DMV field offices for driver license or vehicle registration renewals.”
Cops, of course, can cite if they wish.
“It’s a request for law enforcement to use their discretion,” Marty Greenstein, a DMV spokesman, told Honk this week. “Given the urgency of the situation, we have every reason to believe they will comply. … (But) it’s up to law enforcement’s discretion, ultimately.”
Most chores with the DMV can be done online at DMV.ca.gov. But drivers generally must go into a DMV office every third renewal of a driver license – every 15 years. Those 70 and above must head in every five years and sometimes more often.
A couple of days after the governor discouraged crowds and asked that seniors and those with chronic health issues to stay home, and the Trump administration recommended no gatherings of more than 10 people, the DMV, on Wednesday evening, announced there would be no behind-the-wheel tests for 30 days, and appointments are now required to get into a DMV office to reduce the number of customers served at one time.
Appointments will be limited, and even without the coronavirus chaos, getting one could be tough at your local office, although you can try other offices. Honk asked if there is a limit to how many people will be allowed in a DMV office at once – that remains unclear.
“The DMV has been metering the number of customers entering offices and implemented social-distancing measures,” Greenstein told Honk. “Moving to appointment-only service will continue to reduce the number of customers in an office at a given time. In addition, text notifications are available to customers once they check in so they may leave the office and come back when they get a text that informs them that they will soon be called to a service window.”
Honk asked Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s office if DMV offices will be closed at some point, or if other precautions are in the wind. Those questions were re-directed to Anita Gore, a deputy director with the DMV, who told Honk in an email:
“We continue to follow the guidance of public health officials and assess our operations. … (The) DMV is vital to California’s economy. For commerce to continue, for Californians to have identification documents to receive social services, and to keep California moving, the DMV must remain open both virtually and brick and mortar. The health and safety of our employees and customers is the DMV’s top priority.”
Honk is real big into following laws, even if he disagrees with them a bit at times. But if his aging parents or in-laws were alive and healthy, he would beg with all his might that they not walk into a DMV office right now.
Honkin’ fact: A scion of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical clan who got fired from the family business by an uncle and become a bronze sculptor, Seward Johnson, died last week at 89 in Florida. Back in 1982, the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown put 10 of his statues in a courtyard, including one of a man holding an umbrella seemingly trying to flag down a taxi – which prompted cabbies to stop, momentarily thinking they had a fare. (Source: The Washington Post)
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk.