Editorial: Making the DMV experience less painful

For once, a slogan that is actually true
(image courtesyof NextAdvisor.com)

In the last few weeks, I have had occasion to visit the CA DMV twice. Usually, the very thought of visiting the DMV makes me want to curl up into the fetal position and babble uncontrollably. It is so bad, I look for every possible way to avoid having to do it, taking care of as many things as I possibly can ahead of time so as to minimize my time spent in the wretched place.

My experience in VA, for instance, was standing outside behind at least 100 people on a swampy, muggy late summer morning, fully an hour and a half before the DMV opened, just to make sure that I could get out of there before noon. In DC, at least the location was indoors, but despite arriving an hour before opening time, there were already at least 100 people in line in front of me and it still took over three hours to finish a few simple procedures. By far the worse experience was in MA, where I not only ended up spending an entire afternoon at the DMV, but was forced to go twice because each visit to the DMV can only include three transactions, a limit that was met by my need to get a new license, title a vehicle, and then register that vehicle. Given all of these rather miserable experiences, it should be no surprise that I was not exactly looking forward to paying the CA DMV a visit.

Road Trip: National Harbor to Richmond, VA

The day was already off to a less than auspicious start. My flight into National Airport, just outside of DC, had gone smoothly enough despite being a bit late. The shuttle to National Harbor was uneventful enough, despite requiring a much longer wait than originally expected. Things started to come apart at the seams, however, when I stopped at the Hertz rental car counter in the hotel to pick up the car I had reserved. Apparently, they had a few cars that were delayed in coming back and despite the fact that I had a reservation to pick up the car at 3:30PM, the earliest a car would be available would be 6PM. Since I was expected to be in Richmond, about 2 hours away, for dinner, that just wasn't going to cut it. Throw in some surly service from an overwhelmed counter rep and my patience was wearing thin. Figuring that the airport location would have more cars, I called for a shuttle and headed back to the airport.

Arriving at the airport location, I headed for the Hertz counter. The large number of people sitting around waiting should have been a clue, but I was hoping for the best. I approached the counter and as the guy pulled up my reservation on the computer, it was looking like things would finally be going my way. We went through nearly the entire process before the rep at the counter informed me, with an air of "sucks to be you," that there was a 90-minute wait for a car. Running out of time, I gave the rep a piece of my mind, in no uncertain terms, before canceling my reservation. Taking a step back, head full of steam, I looked down the row of rental car counters and picked out Budget, mostly because there was absolutely no one in line. Before I even began the process, I asked the counter rep if they had cars available immediately and he assured me that he did, although they only had coupes left: one Mustang and one Camaro. Before deciding, I inquired as to whether the cars were V6 or V8 versions - the Mustang was six-cylinder, but the Camaro was an SS with the V8. Jackpot!