I've adjusted some of New York State DMV-related info lately through the web and I've been fairly pleasantly surprised by the experience in a few cases.
It didn't blow me away, but my expectations were pretty low and I felt pretty happy with things.
Does anyone have any insight into which states have the best software solutions?
Top comments (13)
The DMV near me in Texas is pretty great. You go in, get put on a waitlist, and you'll get a text when you're next so you can go out and run other errands while you wait. You can even text back to request extra time if you're far away or in the middle of something.
Agreed. Went to DMV in Texas (DFW) and out within an hour. It's a hit/miss though - my wife spent an hour at least two times. It is still better than Southern California (used to live there few years ago) where I can expect to spend 2-3 hours, if I'm lucky :)
SMS is such an incredibly useful technology for things like this.
Haha I heard its a thing now in California dmv (not verified). If it is though, I wish they'd have it long time ago!It is unfortunate that it takes them a long time to adopt new tech 😅
I feel like building with the jamstack would prevent a lot of this considering that biggest reason for not adopting new tech is security
2-3 hours sounds dreamy now you will be lucky to get some issues resolved even after spending your day there
It ain't Idaho.
The DMV here had a glitch wherein renewing any state ID automatically issued the person a CDL (commercial driver's license), an error which could only be corrected by the window attendant calling the home office in Boise and being put on hold for 5-20 minutes each time...with you standing there.
The DMV in Zootopia would have been faster that day.
According to the attendant, this was one of dozens of such problems. The new system had been deployed with minimal testing, and no backup system, and the pace at which bugs were actually fixed was glacial. The problem in question had been that way for months, I was told.
Meanwhile, one of our school districts got hit with ransomware just before the school year started. Teachers were told to backup their files on flash drives; they'd get their computers back in a couple weeks, but their flash drives with all the files they needed for the school year back in a few months.
At the same time, they "couldn't" assign or check out required books to students, because the system for that was down. Mind you, they'd been doing all of that entirely on paper up until two years ago, but administration absolutely refused to allow them to use paper records until the system was up, citing "we won't be able to keep track of books without the computer!" (Again, they'd been doing exactly that, exclusively on paper, until two years prior.)
So, the teachers have to copy off each individual book page for each individual student, and somehow teach their classes without any of their files.
Genius.
Sounds pretty F'd there in Idaho. My company is still using ancient software from almost 25 years ago. I can't understand why some entities are slow in their adoption of newer software.
Not allocating resources for upgrade?
On a related note~
When it comes to accessing social services online, there are some surprises: Nebraska and Kansas have all 5 of the major applications not only online, but combined into one application, while Washington state maintains two separate applications that cover only 3 of the 5 services. (article: codeforamerica.org/programs/integr...)
I suspect you're mostly going to get counterexamples from other states.
When it comes to software, Florida is all around pretty terrible. I like to think of this as an opportunity to make a difference, but getting a RFP accepted is a very protracted process and you have to overcome nepotism from e.g. security companies run by "forensics" experts who are actually totally clueless about software.
Ah, Maryland. Where OMV means DMV, and DMV means D.C., Maryland, Virgina. Five years ago I wouldn't have felt like there was missing context in this post. 🤣
Even though it felt outdated, I paid a traffic fine ONLINE to the mighty Commonwealth of Pennsylvania yesterday. Also, I have to say that I've had relative ease with all things state-related here in Maryland.
I think New York invests way too much money into militarized tech, and policing surveillance, but the NY Tech Meetup has been successful in creating the first CTO office on city level (correct me if I am wrong). tech.cityofnewyork.us/