The Virginian-Pilot
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The Department of Motor Vehicles can’t process driver's licenses at its service centers because of a statewide computer system problem, according to a news release.
The problem also is affecting 23 other state agencies, including the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Virginia Department of Transportation, the release says.
Each agency is experiencing different problems and the DMV can't save images in order to process the licenses, said Melanie Stokes, DMV spokeswoman. She said the agency processes about 1,835 licenses a day.
The problem was discovered this morning, Stokes said. Virginia Information Technologies Agency is working on the problem and no estimate was available for how long the repair process will continue.
All other transactions at the DMV are being processed as usual, the release says. Licenses can be renewed online or by phone at (888) 337-4782.
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The states computers are run
The states computers are run by Northrop Grumman Information systems
Im sure
Im sure that half of you who are bashing the state are all computer experts right? The statewide network infrastructure is complex which requires specialized software/hardware and the personnel to manage it.
With this also comes a huge bullseye. Hackers and coders alike would love nothing more than to cause a disruption to these vital systems. Protecting these valuable assets is a full time job in itself.
Another thing that can cause 'hiccups' are system wide upgrades that will ultimately SERVE THE PUBLIC MORE EFFICIENTLY! I know the DMV is a no win institution, but believe it or not, strides are being taken to make it less painful for the customer.
I Don't Believe It
I believe "attempts" are being made, but actual strides? Sorry-no way!
The computers aren't the basic problem.
It was my unfortunate experience to have to go down to one of the VB offices to renew my license, since I had "onlined" the last time.
Rows and rows and rows of people....a mass of humanity....and this was in the middle of last week, when it should have been rather quiet.
They have 15 available bays, but averaged only three to four workers at best. What the hell!
An hour and a twenty minutes later, I finally crawled out of the place.
What's the point of a nice building, with all those bays, if only a few are actually used?
And, why do they need a full time voter registration person, when nobody was registering? Can't she be cross-trained for one of those empty bays? And drag some of those unseen paper-pushers in the back out front, to help when things are busy? The computer systems are usually fine....it's common sense that seems to be lacking.
How much more are you willing to pay in taxes to
How much more in taxes are you willing to pay to staff those bays.
How much more am I willing to pay? Not one more penny!
I can staff one more counter person by pulling the Voters registration person who sits on her butt without ONE person coming up to her. That's a 25% increase right there! Transfer a couple staff people from the back office to the counter, and/or train a group of them for potential counter work.
The key is to cross train people from the back, so that when things get heavy up front, they can drop their coffee, and come up front to help out. Supervisors should already know how to do the jobs, so they should also be in the mix. You don't need the counters fully staffed at all times, but they should be staffed according to the needs of the people walking through the door.....you know...the taxpayers?
It would work....the office manager just needs some testicular fortitude, guts, and a little imagination.
the connection
Your tax dollars pay those employees. People gripe about paying taxes, and they also gripe about DMV lines, lousy highways, public safety, etc.
My father told me, "If someone offers you a free lunch, be prepared to pay for it."
Computer problems at DMV
Computer outages happen regularly at DMV, as if the people managing the system are fake IT people who know naught about complex computer networks/systems.
To err is human
To really foul things up requires a computor.
Actually;
...that is just a part of it. Allow the state to run it, and things REALLY get fouled up!