I never thought I’d end up obsessing over Texas driver’s licenses, but it seems like that’s become part of my life’s work. Now the Texas Department of Public Safety, which has run the program for decades, stands to lose control of it through incompetence.
The Watchdog has the latest information.
Almost 30 years ago, when I went to get my first Texas license, I saw they were playing full-length movies in the waiting room. That showed me state officials had given up. Rather than shorten the line, they instead surrendered and installed TV sets.
When it came time for my oldest son, then 16, to get his first license, I told him, “If you’re old enough to drive, you’re old enough to figure out what papers you need for the state.”
It was a beautiful strategy. Our first trip failed because he forgot paperwork from school. On trip #2, he forgot his original birth certificate, and on trip #3 it was a missing Social Security card. In #4, his school form had lapsed.
Finally, he figured it out, yelling, “YOU DON’T WANT ME TO DRIVE!”
Bingo. He got his license when he was 17 1/2. Meanwhile, his friends were driving at age 16 and crashing into trees.
Illegal fingerprinting of Texans
Then came the fingerprint thing. Eight years ago, during my renewal, the clerk took fingerprints of all 10 fingers. It felt like an arrest, and I didn’t believe that was legal. I reported this, and state lawmakers halted the practice. Now DPS only takes thumbprints.
I’ve studied how Texas failed to combine voter registration with driver’s license signups. I’ve reported on long lines, poor customer service and how everyone is supposed to have a 5-point star on your license by Oct. 1 of this year, or you might not be allowed to fly on a commercial plane.
The latest is the theft of a database storing information on 27 million past and present Texas license holders. The company responsible is Vertafore of Denver. Yes, your information is probably for sale on the dark web, but this massive data theft didn’t happen because of DPS.
DPS has done a terrible job with its license division, even though lawmakers have funded the program with hundreds of millions of dollars for improvements. In 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott called their operations “despicable” and blamed DPS for being “non-responsive” to the problems.
Back then, state lawmakers put DPS on notice: If you can’t get your act together, we’ll transfer the DL division to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which in most states handles this anyway.
The state was authorized to spend up to $1 million for a study. The results from the University of Texas Center for Transportation Research truly surprised me.
Researchers said DPS should no longer run the program, concentrating instead on law enforcement. But they also said DMV isn’t equipped to take over. DMV handles registrations, plates and titles, along with supervising car dealerships, the state lemon law and moving companies, among other duties.
Their recommendation? Start an entirely new state agency from scratch to handle DL’s. Wow. I didn’t see that coming.
Defending itself, DPS says in a report to lawmakers that one main reason for its failures is Texas’ population growth, almost 2% every year.
Add to that the crush of people who need to update their license to get that pesky star. That’s because the REAL ID federal law is supposed to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to combat terrorism, identity theft and other crimes.
Then there were the closings of license offices in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. That didn’t help.
DPS has tried to make it easier for online renewals. Licenses expire after eight years now, instead of six. The cost of a new adult license or a renewal is $33.
‘Hampered’
DPS struggles with licenses, the UT researchers found, because DPS is “hampered” by its “focus on a law enforcement culture.”
DPS public relations skills are not the best. For the past several years, DPS only communicates with The Watchdog by email, and no one ever signs their name to DPS’ email responses. I don’t know who I’m communicating with.
The lack of a strong DPS customer service culture made it harder for members of the public to get their DL questions answered. The website was outdated and didn’t work well on mobile.
Usually, if someone called DPS with a DL question, no one answered the phone. DPS’ social media efforts to share the latest DL information were also lacking.
“Not a single Spanish-language tweet” was posted by DPS, the study scolded.
Astonishingly, the call center only answered 10% of 7 million calls, the report found. If the DL website answered more questions, there’d be less calls and fewer unnecessary visits to a license office.
New website unveiled
Ready for some good news? This week, DPS launched a new DL website, and it’s easier to use.
The anonymous DPS media specialist told me more information is circulated on social media.
“Our team is working to address the most commonly asked questions and highlight important messages via social media to continue to educate Texans on DL services,” he/she wrote in answer to my questions.
The next step is for state lawmakers to decide what to do. Keep things as they are or move the DL program.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, is a leader in the yearslong struggle to fix the broken system.
To avoid the issuance of DL’s going “civilian,” he says, DPS “has got to take customer service seriously.”
How many years and how many millions of dollars does that take to get it right?
In the Know: Latest driver’s license info
The waiver on expiration dates for DL’s and ID cards ends on April 14. Customers who need to renew should make an appointment or renew online.
The waiver applied to licenses that expired on or after March 13, 2020.
Renew online or change an address at Texas.gov. Or renew by phone at 1-866-357-3639.
Schedule an appointment at dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/appointments.htm. (Ignore dashes if they appear in this address due to newspaper column margins.)
Customers can book appointments up to six months in advance. All offices offer limited same-day appointments on a first-come basis. Standby status is also available. Three out of 10 people who made appointments in December did not show up, DPS says.
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