LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla. – A year after Local 10 reported about the extremely long lines at DMV offices across South Florida, residents are becoming more frustrated as the long lines continue, forcing some to come back day after day in hopes of being seen.
Local 10′s Hannah Yechivi was at the DMV office on Oakland Park Boulevard and US-441 in Lauderdale Lakes Thursday morning as hundreds of people were lined up outside the building.
“I have something that I need to be done by today and I’ve been here three days in a row and I couldn’t get my business taken care of. Something needs to be done about it,” Brenda Johnson said.
“This is my third day trying to get here to get my license resolved. This is crazy, and this is an everyday occurrence,” Sandra Murray added.
“You call the number and nobody ever picks the phone up. It’s ridiculous. It makes no sense,” another angry person, identified only as John, said.
Frustration, anger and patience are all things that most of the people waiting have.
They say they have shown up at DMV offices in the wee hours of the morning, crossing their fingers to be able to get or renew their driver’s license -- all people who were not able to get an appointment.
“They give you appointments three to four months down,” Johnson said. “It just doesn’t make sense. I mean, what about the people that are from here -- what about us?”
Because of what they say is a struggle to secure appointments, people form a line before the crack of dawn. On Thursday morning, the line wrapped around the building in Lauderdale Lakes.
“I was going to get in line but I saw the line wrapped around the corner,” John said. “I’m not going to wait in line, then you turn around and they tell you the same thing. I went to another place the other day and they said, ‘Oh, after you’ve been in line for two hours, we are only going to take 25 more people. The rest of you gotta go home.’”
Murray said she has been in line at the DMV office since 4:15 a.m.
“4:15 and I’m number 65 in line,” she said.
On previous occasions, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has blamed the high demand they have on the high numbers of out-of-staters.
In the past, they have told Local 10 that they have expanded hours and opened more locations to address that demand. But people we spoke to say that’s clearly not enough.
“The only way you can get out here is I guess if you sleep out here and wait until they open,” John said.
“Are you concerned you are not going to make it?” Yechivi asked Johnson.
“Yeah, I think I’m not going to make it,” she answered.
“I comply with the law in every way, shape and fashion, so today they gotta give me some justice,” Murray said.
There’s also people who show up later in the day to test their chances.
“The last time I did it, they let everybody in, and maybe this time they do it again,” Marcus Winston said. “Who knows. If I gotta come back, I gotta come back. You can’t get mad.”
A spokesperson for the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles declined an interview request from Local 10 News, but released the following statement Thursday:
“Miami offices are the busiest in the state, with the highest number of visitors each day. The Department is hiring more examiners to assist and address processing customer requests. While it can be challenging to get an appointment, we offer many online services that allow customers to avoid the line and complete transactions using the Department’s self-service portal.”
The spokesperson also denied one Local 10 interviewee’s claim that there aren’t appointments available until January, saying multiple appointments can be made online for dates beginning in August.
“Additionally, F.L.H.S.M.V. operates F.L.O.W. (Florida Licensing on Wheels) offices across South Florida. You can check the FLOW page for the schedule of these mobile offices in your area,” the spokesperson said. “We have observed that the mornings tend to be busier, while in the afternoons, there are fewer customers. Therefore, individuals without appointments may have better luck walking in and receiving service in the afternoons rather than in the mornings.”
According to the spokesperson, appointments can only be made 60 days in advance.
“FLHSMV is aware that a number of third-party appointment brokers reserve the free driver license appointments and then attempt to resell them to potential customers. FLHSMV will never charge a customer a fee for booking an appointment. We are discouraged that these third parties are taking advantage of the situation and are in turn making the situation worse,” the spokesperson said. “Since these brokers were first detected, FLHSMV has committed significant resources to review appointment requests and, as a result, cancels approximately 1,000 fictitious appointments per day. In addition, we’re working with the vendor of our appointment system to explore ways to prevent these fictitious appoints and using automated tools to pinpoint and cancel appointments created by third-party brokers.”
To make an appointment at a DMV near you, click here.