State moving to curtail lines at Licensing office in West Seattle

| West Seattle news | Westwood

Vlad shared that photo a few weeks back, showing a long line at the State Department of Licensing office in Westwood. Apparently not an uncommon sight, since it’s one of the offices that offer the Enhanced Driver License (EDL), and that’s become so popular that the state just announced new procedures to shorten lines at the West Seattle office and others encountering the same problem. Specifically, as noted in a news release:

To better mitigate wait times, DOL is:
* Screening applicants waiting outside beginning at 7:15 am
* Installing a greeter at the front door to separate transactions and encourage people to do their business online or at a self service station if possible
* Not accepting EDL applicants after 2 p.m. weekdays and at noon on weekends
* Adding new office signage and information on the DOL website – dol.wa.gov

The new rules also affect the DOL offices in Lacey, Kennewick, Mount Vernon, Parkland, Renton, Smokey Point, Spokane and Wenatchee. In addition, the state points out that you can make an appointment to get an EDL through the office in downtown Seattle (as well as Bothell, Port Angeles and Bellingham). More info on the locations (and licenses) is available here.

JH July 6, 2009 (12:05 pm)

This is a no-brainer, but if you need anything besides an EDL (i.e. your teen needs to take a drivers test, etc…), go to any DOL office that doesn’t issue the EDL! I took my teen to the Bellevue DOL with only a 20 minute wait. The wait times are on the the DOL website.

jlk July 6, 2009 (12:11 pm)

Sounds great! I spent an hour last Wednesday & an extra 4 hours waiting on Friday & still no EDL & I was there at 8:40am! Took 4 hours to learn that I needed a “certified” copy of my marriage cert. (though I had all the other docs listed on the dol website) Very frustrating! Not a good way to start the weekend.
Glad they are going to have a “screener”. I’m ending up just getting a regular driver’s license. Will try again after they make some improvements.

Save Our Streets Seattle July 6, 2009 (12:29 pm)

So, to make lines shorter, they are cutting the hours that you can apply for a EDL? Am I missing something? And, am I also correct in my assessment of this situation by stating that the U.S. Govt REQUIRES you to have a passport or EDL but WA State refuses to allot the resources available to produce and distribute the EDLs? Cart before the horse? Catch-22? Wa State Govt?

datamuse July 6, 2009 (12:37 pm)

…or go to the DoL office after 2pm, apparently. I went on Friday afternoon to get my motorcycle endorsement and was in and out in under half an hour.

Sue July 6, 2009 (12:40 pm)

A screener is a good idea – they did that in NYC and it really helped to weed out the people who didn’t have the right documents so they didn’t waste their time and everyone else’s.

WSB July 6, 2009 (12:58 pm)

Here’s the news release in its entirety for anyone interested.
http://www.dol.wa.gov/about/news/2009/200907edlwaits.html

Save Our Streets Seattle July 6, 2009 (12:59 pm)

There’s a TWO MONTH waiting list to even GET an appointment if you call the appointment number. This is yet another disgusting example of WA STATE expecting people to be able to take 2-3 DAYS off work to TRY to get an EDL. The Government is off its rocker. People, regular, people can’t USE this service because it’s inconvenient to the point of uselessness.

old timer July 6, 2009 (1:59 pm)

Do not blame Washington State for not being able to perform unfunded duties placed upon them by the U.S. Government.
The Feds are real good at passing laws and not figuring out how to pay for their consequences.
Get a passport from the Post Office, takes about 2+ weeks,
costs about $100.
EDL, wait in line and pay $15.00 extra.
Got a problem w/that?
Call Washington D.C.

datamuse July 6, 2009 (2:01 pm)

Yanno, SOSS, EDLs have been available for a year and a half. The DoL has many powers, but getting people to avoid waiting until the last minute apparently isn’t one of them.

Kathleen July 6, 2009 (2:22 pm)

They know how many EDL’s they can process in a day, it seems to me, they should only give out that many numbers. When those 15 or so numbers are taken, you won’t waste your time waiting. When I got my EDL, I waited about 6 hours and the people after me, were told I was the last one for the day, after they had waited hours.

SarahScoot July 6, 2009 (2:51 pm)

Wow… crazy wait times! I went in June 2008 to get my motorcycle endorsement, update my address, and change my last name (yes, all three had happened in a short period of time), and I was done in 15 minutes. This was a… Monday, I believe? Around 3:00 p.m. after leaving work early. It also helps to check the DOL’s website before going, since there’s a widget that displays wait times at different offices.

think July 6, 2009 (3:38 pm)

These licenses have RFID tags imbedded in them. Here are some caveats many have not thought of in terms of privacy.
**********************************
To anyone who’s clued in about RFID, the spychipped driver’s licenses are a complete privacy nightmare. They can be silently read from 20-feet away, through a person’s wallet, pocket, backpack, or purse — even when the target is in a moving car. They are unencrypted and contain a unique ID number that can be used to identify and track people miles from the border — indeed, anywhere the government chooses to put a reader.

But it’s not just the government that could use the cards to track and surveil people. Anyone with a rudimentary RFID reader can remotely access the the unique ID number on the card. Retailers could use them to ID customers as they walk in the door. Marketers could use them to track people around the store. Stalkers could use them to track their victims. Hackers could duplicate the signal emitted by chipped licenses to impersonate people. The list of potential abuses for the ill-conceived ID card are staggering.

Save Our Streets Seattle July 6, 2009 (6:02 pm)

Datamuse, when the DOL realized that a tiny fraction of people had applied for EDLs before June, they did NOTHING to prepare for a rise in applications. The DOL is NOT doing its job. And, Think, thanks for that info. I may stick with my passport after all. It doesn’t excuse the DOL’s complete lack of planning OR response. The ONLY changes they are making is to reduce lines, not get people their EDLs faster.

Cleveland Ken July 6, 2009 (7:43 pm)

Hmm I wonder how many of you even need an EDL. I think most don’t but want it just to have it. I have never waited much more than 10 minutes there but then again I have a passport and don’t need an EDL.

Pete July 7, 2009 (6:10 am)

The wait times should not surprise anyone, as these aren’t really drivers licenses anymore, they are really passports that also allow you to drive. All Washington D.C. did was to take the long waits they created with passports and outsource the problem to Washington, this is really a national ID card that just says Washington across the top. Didn’t take long for the same hassles to end up here. I’m sure it won’t be too long before they raise the prices on them either.

KSJ July 7, 2009 (8:44 am)

If the state was running this right, these licensing departments should pay for themselves, and they should be able to get more counters open during peak hours. It was already a problem before the EDL, now it’s just worse. I went in January to get my name updated (marriage), and spent over an hour waiting for that simple change. Of course only three of eight possible counters were open. The buildings have enough counters and enough room to accommodate more service — they just need to reallocate money to hire more help with the revenue from licensing. Maybe we should e-mail our representatives on this one?

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