Editorial: DMV wait times: Driver, heal thyself

Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 | 9:23 a.m.

Ten years ago the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles in Las Vegas would have received a standing ovation if customers' wait time had averaged only 81 minutes. Today DMV officials are looking at that latest wait-time number and perceiving it as a failure. Their goal is 60 minutes and they have some good ideas for achieving it. Success will depend in large part on the public's willingness to give up unnecessary face-to-face transactions in favor of using the mail, telephone or Internet.

The DMV's push for people to use alternative means for routine transactions such as registration renewals has historical precedents. It took years, but a majority of people now use Automated Teller Machines and take advantage of direct deposits of their paychecks, shortening the bank lines for people whose business requires a signature, exchange of paperwork or other activity requiring physical presence. Banks had to vigorously promote ATMs and direct deposit in order to change their customers' habits. The DMV is now promoting its alternative methods and we hope more people take advantage of them. The DMV also has some other good ideas, such as providing registration services at new-car dealerships and smog stations. The DMV responded when the public complained about its long lines. Now it's the public's turn to respond, by conducting business remotely whe never possible.