Georgia Department of Driver Services Slow Moving

WABE

July 11th, 2012

It’s not even been a full week since new government regulations for renewing a Driver’s License took effect in Georgia. Wait times of up to five hours and more have been reported, but as Susan Mittleman reports, the Department of Driver’s Services is making adjustments.

The DDS says 4-5 hour wait times are unacceptable but as customers get more informed about the federal rules, and examiners get more accustomed to the new system, things should improve.

“We are seeing improvements every day, even if it is reducing transaction time by a couple of minutes. It’s still moving in the right direction.”

Spokeswomen Susan Sports says they’re doing several things to improve service, including shifting staff and continuing with their public outreach.

“Last Friday we mailed a batch of postcards out so people expiring in the next month or so will get a personal reminder mailed to their home telling them the new federal requirements are enacted and this is exactly what they’ll need to bring in.”

Anyone renewing, re-instating or getting a new driver’s license or a secure ID card now needs to bring in three forms of ID: An original birth certificate or passport,; something to prove your social security number, and two documents proving your residential address.

Sports says the average renewal wait time before the new regulations kicked in was about 35 minutes and the average now is about an hour and 39 minutes.

You can find details on the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services website.