MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There were long lines at the Shelby Drive DMV Monday, with people wrapped almost out the door.
WREG investigators uncovered the problems and delays fixing them in November 2013.
After our series of stories, the DMV announced a list of changes and promised to do better last March.
The man in charge thanked WREG for doing in three months what he couldn’t do in three years.
In May, customers even complimented the new efficient system.
But Monday morning, some drivers chose to sit and wait on the hoods of their cars in the parking lot because the DMV on Shelby Drive was that packed.
“I was here to try and get my license, but I’m fixing to go now, because they were taking too long,” one man said after waiting more than an hour.
After hearing complaints about wait times, Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Bill Gibbons came to the station for himself and admitted it was definitely crowded.
“It took me a few minutes to find a parking space, but I found one,” he said.
The Shelby Drive office is seeing more people than ever because the Hickory Hill reinstatement center closed last year. Last month, the state announced new Saturday hours to handle reinstatements.
“This past Saturday we had about 120 reinstatement transactions,” Gibbons said.
Monday, Drivers told us they waited between 45 minutes and an hour, and while some were happy with that, it’s still more than twice the average wait time for the state.
Gibbons said these Saturdays are being used as a test period to see if the Shelby Drive DMV will handle reinstatements permanently.
If that doesn’t work out, he will look into opening a new center.
“This is the largest station in the state, the busiest station, and this is the middle of reinstatement season,” he said. “So, we’re doing the best we can under some very difficult circumstances.”
If the state decides to open a new reinstatement center, Gibbons isn’t sure where it could be. However, he said it definitely will not be located in Hickory Hill.
