News

Sheriff is fed up with DMV's long lines

By Lightning Reports, Published: January 7, 2024

Area drivers frustrated by long lines at Henderson County’s drivers license office have an ally in the county’s top law enforcement officer.

Sheriff Lowell Griffin is so fed up with the poor service that he took the opportunity to vent his own frustration before the county Board of Commissioners on Jan. 2, hoping commissioners would join him in appealing to the state Division of Motor Vehicles to fix it.
“Recently I’ve had family and I’ve had friends that have attempted to get their driver's license and they've had to attempt on numerous occasions, and it's not because they're not eligible,” he said. “It's because of the extensive lines here in North Carolina at the DMV.”
Griffin said he was aware of county residents driving to McDowell, Polk, Transylvania and Haywood counties to try to get service.
“It's crazy that we have folks here that are having to travel to different counties in Western North Carolina to try to get their driver's license,” he said. “This is not an indictment on the men and women that are working here at the local DMV. I think they're overworked and underpaid. We need additional staffing here.
“People are having to land up in the cold at 6:30 in the morning to get a place in line to get a renewal. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's incredible that it's this overran and nobody seems to want to address the issue.”
Commissioners did not commit immediately to joining Griffin in demanding action, although Commissioner Michael Edney mentioned that he, too, had encountered the lack of service in helping his daughter get her driver's license.

The problems at DMV offices have been evident since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles last spring announced changes to appointment scheduling, office hours and technology in order to increase walk-in availability at 115 driver license offices across the state.  Beginning May 1, appointments could be booked at skiptheline.ncdot.gov, through 11 a.m. After noon, customer services statewide are provided on a walk-in basis.

“We've heard from the public that they want more walk-in availability, so that's what we're aiming to deliver," NCDMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said at the time. “DMV introduced the ability to schedule appointments during the pandemic, but I believe now is the time to better maximize potential efficiencies by allowing for more walk-in capability, given that data indicates up to 25 percent of appointments are no-shows."

The DMV did add nearly 100 new examiners across the state in 2022 and 41 more were coming on line a year ago, Goodwin said. He also said then that 40 DMV offices were opening at 7 a.m., adding an extra hour to serve drivers.

“We continue to work on addressing our staffing needs," he said. "My goal is to keep adding more offices to these 40 with more hours so we can provide the services our residents need in a timelier manner."