As I wrote in a previous article, I have recently turned that grand age of 21-years-old, and being the punctual person I am once in every blue moon, I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) a week before my birthday to renew my license.
I took at least an extra 30 minutes that morning on my hair and make-up. I was not trying to have another embarrassing license photo. Yes, I was that typical sorority girl in the DMV with a brush and mirror to make sure I looked perfect for my close-up and no, I am not ashamed to admit that.
The clerk took my picture and now all I had to do was wait anxiously the next month, checking my mail every day to see if my license came in.
Well it finally came at exactly a month later and I got pretty giddy to see how my 21-year-old I.D. turned out. I was hoping the picture turned out as perfect as I felt that day. However, I was thoroughly disappointed.
It was a pretty rough picture, downright ugly, and I only say that because the photo on my state issued I.D. wasn’t my own face.
Huh? Exactly.
I received a new Minnesota Driver’s license that had my personal information (address, height, weight, eye color, etc.), but not my face and not my signature.
Now, no offense to the woman’s face who was on my I.D, I’m sure she’s a lovely lady, however, she doesn’t belong on my I.D. I didn’t know if I should cry or laugh at this awkward and concerning situation.
What do I even do now, this can’t be a valid license? Who has my picture on their license? Did I just involuntary commit identity fraud?
As funny as this situation is (my friends are still laughing and making jokes about it), this situation is highly concerning for my identity. Seriously, some random person has my face on a state-issued I.D. and I have no idea what they will do with that messed up license.
And I’m not the only Minnesotan who has issues to take up with the DMV.
Back in July of this year was the debut of Minnesota’s new Licensing and Registration System. The computer system for managing vehicle licenses and registration has been in the works for nearly a decade and cost $90 million dollars. You would think that after all that time and money they could match my photo to my license just like they did on the old system, right?
Guess not.
The new system has had numerous glitches over the months such as over and undercharging people as well as not recognizing when a license has been transferred to a new vehicle. It also left many people not being able to renew vehicle tabs or plates because the system was down state-wide.
The confusion and slowdowns with the new system have caused licensing offices to cut hours of operation or close entirely, leaving people without jobs and customers waiting weeks for new tabs and licenses.
Reading an article from Minnesota’s Star Tribune, I found a fellow Minnesotan that is really feeling the repercussions of the failing system:
License operator Vinton Lewis said, “It’s a total disaster.” He owns a Quick-Serv License Center with his wife in South St. Paul, and fears that it could be forced to shut down if the new system’s problems are not addressed sooner. They have been using money from their retirement fund to cover the drop in business and overtime costs.
It was early October when Lewis’s story was shared; it just shows that the Commissioner of Public Safety and other government officials are not handling the situation as timely as needed.
It really makes me wonder what all that $90 million went to in creating this new managing system? And if took nearly a decade to perfect it, why did it roll out with so many huge glitches and why are they still not fixed months later?
I have since contacted Minnesota DMV about how to correct my license and am still awaiting an answer. But being a student out of state makes it hard for me to get to the DMV in the case that I have to go back to fix my license.
I am only home for holidays, which they are closed on, and they have cut back operating hours, making it all that more difficult for me to get to the DMV.
In the meantime, I’ll have to use my passport to fly domestically because I don’t want to even try to explain to TSA why I am not the person on my license.