Monday, August 06, 2007
Scary letters
Do you know what the three scariest letters in the United States are? If you guessed DUI or DWI then you probably have bigger issues to be dealing with. If you guessed FBI or CIA, you are close. The three scariest letters to hear in the United States are:D. M. V.Since I moved to a new state I knew I would need a new drivers license. I also would need a new tag. The tag would also require me to change my title to NC. I also know that some cities and counties in NC require emission inspections, something I never had to deal with in Macon. (Apparently that nasty smell in Macon is "natural.") Trying to gain an advantage, I attempted to use the internet to gather as much information as possible prior to setting out for my bout with the government. First of all I found there were two tag offices. One is actually just down the street, the other is southwest across town close to the river. I also found there are two driver's license office. One is way northeast of town, and the other is right beside the tag off near the river. Decision made: Head southwest down Shipyard Rd and get all my stuff done in one place! So far my preperation was working. I know you have to bring a ton of documents whenever you have to get tags and driver's licenses. Keep in mind that since I started driving, I have never lived outside Georgia, so all my license and tag paperwork has been renewals. Lets just go ahead and spoil the suspense. The web site is full of lies and half truths. That is of course if you can actually FIND any information. One of the few sets of facts I found that does still seem to me true is that you have 60 days from when you move to NC to get a new license. You have 30 days to get car tags. No problem so far, right? Well not so fast. You cannot get a title until you have your license, so that 60 day thing is a joke. In trying to find out if I live in a county that requires an emission sticker, I could find that there are 100 counties in NC (that's neat!) and 48 of them require emission stickers. Am I in one of those counties? Who knows? No where on the web does it give a list of counties that require it. I assumed I would, since Wilmington is a bit wrapped around the axle these days about pollution. (An hour or two every day on the local access channel, I get yelled at for washing my hands too long, flushing too much, taking too long in the shower, and washing my dishes too well.) I gather my documents and head to the tag office. I walk in at 8:30. They opened at 8, again a part of my plan. The lady at the desk greets me, I show her my GA license, and then she hits me rapid fire with at least a paragraph of information that never sank in. I assume she was asking for my documentation so I start laying various cards and paperwork on the desk and am told I don't have the right one. She hands me a list of the paperwork that I MUST have (that doesn't match what was on the website) and it's back to the truck, and back home to dig through some of the still packed up boxes in a desperate attempt to find my birth certificate. I get back to the tag office (it is now 9 o'clock and the line is 3 times longer) and the guy (not the lady) at the door blows my hair back with another rapid fire paragraph. I ignore him and lay about 18 peices of paper on the desk. I figure he'll know what I need so he can find it himself. He picks out 4 or 5 documents looks em over, hands em back to me, and prints me up a number (B 304) and tells me to have a seat, it'll be an hour. I sit down and notice the sign overhead with the "Now serving" numbers. It clearly says: 120. It doesn't take a math major to realize I am screwed, like in the movie Beetle Juice where he switches his number (1 million) with the head shrinker who had like 18. As I am sitting I notice the sign on the wall that says they accept cash or IN STATE checks only. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. I went to my bank to get new checks 3 days after I arrived. However, my bank (who are obviously disgruntled DMV workers) sent me new checks. With my old address and phone number. I also notice the fees on the wall have been blacked out, so i go back to the desk and ask how much my tags will be. He asks my age and tells me it's going to be $32. If you dig on the website a bit you'll find that it's $32 for everyone under about 55. If the guy thought I had a shot at being 55, then he really shouldn't be giving eye tests. Then again, it is the DMV. Realizing I don't have that amount of cash and my checks are not NC checks (I was expecting to use debit or credit cards like in GA), I decide to use my hour waiting time to run to a bank and make a big ATM withdrawal. I get back just in time. The "1 hour" wait took 40 minutes. While they were officially wrong again, I think I can forgive them on that one. So I go to desk 3 and she starts to fill out my paperwork. She has to ask to spell my name despite having 4 official documents that I was REQUIRED to have that ALL have my name on it and she needs me to spell it for her. She also struggled with my address which was clearly printed on the power bill I was REQUIRED to bring. I then got to take the test on the computer. I had to get 20 out of 25 right. I missed one. Once I got 20 right, the test ended, so I never got to see those last 4 questions. I wanted to see if there was a question on driving over seagulls in parking lots. I missed one of the signs. No it wasn't a seagull crossing sign. And just how many people miss the sign that is a big white rectangle that says "No left turn"? I went back to my truck to drop off my armload of official documents and decide if I was up for doing the tag office next. I figured what the heck, and went in. The line was MUCH shorter so I walked right up to the counter. I handed the lady about 40 documents, she gave me back about 35. She then told me it would be $190. Again, not what I was told and WAY more than I had in my pocket. She then said they accept cash or checks. I asked "Out of state checks?" and she said "Sure!" Psst.. maybe you should have a chat with your neighbors! So I write her my check, she gives me my tag and as I turn to leave she reminds me I now have 10 days to get my emissions sticker. AHA! Now I know I do have to have one and also there's a clock running on me. I come home and attach my new plates, throw out all my old registration and insurance paperwork and decide I might as well check into the emissions thing. I got the name of a place from work the other day when we were discussing repairs to my truck, so I figured I'd try them first. I suspect if I hablamos Spanish it wouldn't have taken as long. I got the "I need an inspection sticker" part across OK. That was when communications broke down. Apparently the duct tape on my turn signal attracted his attention. I explained what had happened and that I had a part on order to fix it. Since he was already under the hood he checked the broken light and informed me that the part behind the headlight was also broken and my headlight was not aligned correctly. He then explained that I wouldn't pass the inspection until the damage had been repaired. I asked why a turn signal would affect my emissions inspection and he explained, barely, that it was an emission and SAFETY inspection. (Find that on the website somewhere.) So the inspection wasn't going to happen today, but the 10 day time clock is still running. So now I have an appointment Thursday to get my headlight fixed, and also attach the turn signal. That's going to be $180 and take most of my day Thursday. And that of course all depends on the turn signal coming in before Wednesday afternoon. I was assured when I ordered it that they usually come in "quickly, two days in most cases." I was assured this last Wednesday. It's Monday. If I don't have my inspection done by next Wednesday, I lose my tags. I can't drive, and it starts all over. (Actually contrary to what the web sites say they did not take my car tags or my drivers license, so I could just go back to being a "Georgia resident" and keep on driving for another 10-15 days.) Needless to say, today was an expensive day. In terms of time and money, as well as sanity. To be honest I think I know what the problem was today. The fact that I was born and raised in the US and I no hablamos Spanish slowed the process down. I swear I saw an "Illegal Immigrant Express Line" at the driver's license place. I may get some help in Spanish from my brother so next time I have to go to the tag office I can get in and out Mucho Pronto, like Speedy Gonzales!  |
Labels: Macon, Wilmington
