A three-month extension on driver license renewal might be given to all Californians in order to relieve them from excessive waiting at DMV offices, according to a statement from Sen. Patricia Bates.
For a resident whose driver license is going to expire this year or who moved into California and want to register his or her out-of-state cars, the bill will give him or her an additional 90 days to finish the renewal process.
The average wait time for people at the DMV to have their number called is around 70 minutes in California, while the wait time is over 100 minutes at DMV offices in Sacramento, according to the Sacramento Bee. At the busiest office in the Bay Area, however, it takes an average of nearly three hours just to get to the counter, reported Mercury News.
“No Californian should spend an entire day off work waiting in line to take care of DMV business or wait for several weeks to make an appointment,” said Senator Bates in the statement, “The media stories and first-hand accounts from constituents about shockingly-long wait times and other logistical challenges at DMV offices demands that the Legislature act quickly.”
So far, some DMV field offices have offered services through Saturday and an extra two hours in the morning to deal with the long waiting lines caused by the demand for obtaining a federally-approved Real ID.
California legislators are also considering giving more funding to the DMV for hiring additional employees to overcome the crisis.
