Community Corner
NJ Driver's License Renewal
I neglected to renew my driver's license by mail and was unable to go to DMV until the day of my birthday, when it expired. I checked the hours of operation on the internet. I read that the office in Wayne was open until 5:30 p.m. on Mondays. I was unable to arrive until 4:35 p.m. and saw a line of people waiting outside the DMV. A rep came out and explained to all that only a few people would be allowed to enter and complete their renewals that day, because there were already 30 people in the facility. We were told by two people that we had every right to stand outside and wait, but that entrance would not be guaranteed.
I had to try to get in, because I was scheduled to work the next day and the following day DMV was closed and my license would have expired, so I waited. It was my option, but I questioned why we could not wait inside the lobby, even if we would not have been admitted for license renewal and why this procedure was not posted on the DMV web site. I was flatly told that we would not be allowed to wait indoors and there was no response to question regarding posting of hours. No one else on line questioned the procedure and one woman told me to shut up, stating that it was my own fault for not having done it sooner.
At about 4:50 p.m., the rep came out again and invited all with a vehicle registration renewal to enter. Meanwhile, the rest of us were waiting in the bitter cold. A couple with an infant was told to have the infant wait in the car with one of the parents.
At 5:14 p.m., the first five individuals on line were given access to the facility to renew their license. I was next in line. They refused me entrance. They probably stopped at me, because I had questioned the procedure. One of the men there was very rude and nasty to me. The number admitted by the clerks was arbitrary.
A nice employee came to the door and explained that this practice has been adopted as a result of the state refusing to pay overtime to the workers. I thought that the DMV is now run by a private organization contracted by the state; if so, they had better get their hours of operation straightened out. Although the hours stated that we had until 5:30 p.m. to complete our business with the DMV, they stopped letting people in at 4:30 p.m. There was no posting anywhere on the facility entrance door or windows nor on the DMV web site that indicated that this is the norm and that if you arrive by a certain time you risk not being admitted and having your papers processed.
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In any event, the employees could have had the decency to let us wait inside the lobby, rather than in sub-freezing temperature, even if we would not have been granted access to the operational area of the facility. There is a door that separates the lobby from the work area. In addition, they could have posted on their web site that entry to the facility may not be allowed after 4:30 p.m.
It would take so little to demonstrate consideration towards NJ residents by doing so, and the state should make sure that its residents do not have to wait in the cold, when there is a lobby available with heat paid for by our tax dollars.
My advice to all of you, don't wait until the last minute to renew your license, do it by mail, if you have the option, and arrive early, if you do have to do it in person.
As for me, I am sharing my story with you, so you can avoid this unpleasant experience, and I am so upset with the manner in which I was treated that I am going to write to my senator to ask that they exert pressure on the DMV to at least show consideration by posting the practice of not allowing people in after a specific time on the DMV web site
