A friend who is no particular fan of the BMV wanted to make sure I passed along her experience. She went in to the New Haven branch to renew her driver's license on Friday. That involves taking the eye test, having a new photo taken, waiting behind whoever got there ahead of you. But she got in and out in under 10 minutes. She hasn't been that impressed by anything "Jaws" (being a bit of a shark fan). I wondered if that was a common experience these days, so I did an online search and found this editorial in the Gary paper:
Although it got off to an incredibly shaky start, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles operation has turned into one of the real success stories of the administration of Gov. Mitch Daniels.
A milestone of sorts was reached last week in Lake County when Napleton Auto Werks of Indiana, in Schererville, became the 100th dealership in the state to offer BMV services on-site.
Bad BMV news was a newspaper and TV staple there for awhile, and one of the reasons everybody knew that Mitch Daniels would be a one-term governor. But the administration always said that the changes it was instituting, as painful as they seemed in the short term, would result in much better service in the long term. Has that, in fact, happened -- is my friend's experience not unique? That would be one of underreported stories of the past year. My license is up for renewal in September, and 10 minutes or less would certainly be a welcome experience.
