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Maybe for $5, the RMV clerks will pretend to be human
By adamg on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 3:55pm
Mike Mennonno flunked the written part of his driver's test today, but that's not what got him grumpy at the Chinatown RMV.
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Massachusetts:
Employing the Too Stupid To Do Anything Else Since 1620
It gets funnier every time I say it.
Good.
I twittered about this the other day because I was forced to wait in the "entry" line at the Watertown RMV behind at LEAST 2 dozen people getting their license renewed! It was almost exclusively license people at the RMV, because when I got my registration renewal wait-ticket, I was only SIXTH in line for the F queue for registrations. I spent more time in the mall waiting to get into the RMV than I did actually waiting for my number to come up...that is absurd given that almost all of those people could have been doing all of it at home/work/friend's house/internet lounge instead.
Before you get all snotty about me going for registration renewal..it was for my moped. If I could have done it online, I would have. As it was, I had already filled out and printed the correct form before I left the house.
Boo hoo at any previous or
Boo hoo at any previous or upcoming complaints about Massachusetts RMV.
I had the pleasure of going to a California DMV last week. There was a 20 minute line to get a number. There was then a 4 hour wait to get my number called. I was lucky to have found a seat to wait in, about 50 other people weren't, and had to stand. I heard multiple people talking about the DMV across town which they had gone to first....the line there, to get a number, went out the door and around the building, so they decided to give this one a shot.
I'd love to pay another $10 if it means they could rehire everyone they fired or start working on fridays again. A 5 hour trip to the DMV means an entire day of missed work, and that costs much more than $10.
How do you flunk the written test?
It's a goddamn joke. You don't even need to read English; when I took it, all you had to do was pick the longest answers, usually.
He explains
Seems plausible to me:
not plausible
....as the questions almost certainly dealt with the circumstances in which one would be fined, not the resulting fine or penalty. If they were focused on the punishment side, someone at the RMV needs to be fired.
Also, why are we allowing people who get 7 out of 25 questions wrong on a test...to drive a car? 1, 2 questions wrong, maybe?
See below
From what I've heard from several dozen clients who've taken the written test in the past couple of years, there are a good number of questions asking what the fine is for particular infractions.
I'm a very safe and skilled driver, and I don't know the fines offhand for any infractions, nor do I give a rat's ass what they are. Aside from speeding on open stretches of highway, I don't commit any of them, and I'm willing to pay the fine should I ever be caught speeding. I do know it's not any more than a couple hunge for normal non-reckless speeding that isn't endangering construction workers or school children or anything.
These questions are silly
They should be asking questions that are actually relevant to safe driving, such as who needs to yield right-of-way in a rotary.
Clearly there should be a
Clearly there should be a distinction between the written test given to juveniles and the written test given to adults. There is no reason a 40 year old needs to know the penalties for a 17 year old driver.
I'm ok with adults having to know the fines. Fines aren't a deterrence if you don't know what they are. Thats why these tests have so many DUI questions. Also, asking extremely specific questions makes the test taker have to study and not just skim the book and respond based on easy questions.
"There are only 25 questions, and you only have to get 18 right"
Wow, this really needs to be changed. I did it in California and there were 36 questions. You could only get 6 wrong (first time) or 3 wrong (renewal). And I thought that was extremely lax!
It should be 50 questions with no more than 5 wrong.
If you don't study the entire book, you will fail
I took the Mass drivers written test about a year ago.
I've been driving for 30 years and passed the Mass test 30 years ago.
This is not the same test I took 30 years ago. Most of the "random" questions were geared towards Jr. drivers and even had a moped question in there. I received 5 questions in a row about Jr. driving fines. The length of the question was not an indicator of the correct answer.
Yep
I hear from quite a few people trying to get their licenses, since I largely work with young mothers and/or immigrant families. Most of the questions on the test are about how much the fine is for a specific junior operator infraction, how many days you'll get your license suspended for various infractions, etc. These folks study the bejeezus out of the guide (particularly the immigrant folks), and still miss these questions that have nothing to do with a non-junior-operator's ability to drive.
It would be nice if the test would ask about the rules of the road, rather than this arbitrary bullshit and stuff like what color a stop sign is. Because there sure are a lot of (presumably licensed) drivers who don't know what to do at a four-way stop, what a flashing red means, what to do when there's an emergency vehicle, what to do when there's a school bus, etc.
Also they don't know how to fucking merge. Any of them. I am the only person in this
statecommonwealth who knows how.I went to the RMV the other day.
Waited for about 45 minutes. The person I dealt with was nice. I was nice. That was it.
Not a "fun story", I know, but there you go.
off topic ... kind of
Does the RMV send a renewal application before one's auto registration expires or do you have to remember to make the first move to renew it?
I always get registration
I always get registration renewal forms in the mail, with helpful instructions on how to perform the transaction online.
Nope!
They stopped doing that at some point last year. No mail for license or registration renewal, unless you forget to pay your excise tax (guilty, but paid). I've noticed a lot of "09" stickers on plates so far this year.
Incorrect
As of Nov 2008, the RMV stopped mailings for the following:
License renewals are not being reminded through the mail. Registration details still are.
And, while it was down for me right now so I can't confirm what it encompasses, they have this link which should allow you to opt-in for a reminder e-mail about your license renewal...so the service still exists, but it's online and opt-in at this point instead of snail mail and by default.
I stand corrected...
Good to know the people with "09" stickers on their plates have no excuse...
The slipped this one in recently
WBUR mentioned this weekend that they plan to jump auto inspection fees from $29 to $35...
How's that property tax reduction that Deval promised us in 2006 working out so far?
Oh yeah, and changing the "culture" on Beacon Hill. Paging Marian Walsh, Sal Dimasi,
Anthony Gallucio, James Aloe-weasel....
Anybody still planning to vote for this Three-Card Monte needs to be checked into McClean's, right next
to James "Touch My Willie" Marzilli.
Uhhh...
Wouldn't this be a progressive tax? Vehicle ownership is a privilege, and it's a fuckton more expensive in most countries.
Eeka, I love you like a sister, I really do
But please don't make arguments like that. I don't care how expensive vehicle ownership is in other countries. I don't live in other countries, I live in the best one. It's not a race to the bottom. Two wrongs don't make a right.
So ... Will LaTuilippe is a Socialist?
Owning and driving in other countries is more expensive because they don't subsidize auto ownership and travel like we do. The RMV fee probably doesn't even cover the cost of the service. No place on earth socializes the cost of driving like the US does. To say this subsidy situation should continue means that you are advocating socialism.
Car ownership is expensive, as is the infrastructure that supports it - Europeans aren't taxed on their driving, they are made to pay the full freight without the huge subsidies we enjoy. Sounds like a proper capitalist system to me.
Subsidies?
What subsidy exists for auto ownership in the US? I don't remember anybody giving me money to buy my Corolla. That was all me. Straight cash homey.
You shovel the street?
Did you pay your share of the cost to build and maintain roads?
Not like people in Europe do. The high fuel taxes go for the cost of the roads, the services, etc. that support driving everywhere. In the US we pay those through our federal, state, and local taxes - whether we drive much or at all.
Google it. You will be surprised at how much driving is subsidized by general taxes.
I also pay the same insurance as somebody who drives five times as much as I do. That's socialism, too.
Under the old regulated
Under the old regulated insurance rates, you get a 10% discount if you drive less than 5000 miles a year, and 5% for less than 7500. With deregulation, your insurance company can probably offer more.
Yes, it's an arbitrary cutoff, and probably doesn't reflect the entire difference in risk, but it's a lot better than nothing.
That's a Jingo!
Do you agree that China doesn't own the best of anything, then?
Because China owns us.
Don't blow your stack trying to figure out how we come out of that as "the best".
Eeka, my love..
I believe, and Adam, correct me if I'm wrong, but our beloved webmaster prefers all of his comedians work "clean". Or do like I do, use the *** key more!
Yo, dvdoff
Don't make me kick your asterisk! ;-)
Fix the RMV by reducing the need for it
Why not issue all licenses and registrations for a 20-year term? This would allow the Registry to reduce its staff and simultaneously reduce the frequency of citizens needing to interact with it. A win for everyone.
Have you seen MA drivers?
I wouldn't trust half of them with a frickin' riding mower for 20 years, let alone an automobile.
But renewals don't mean retests
so the renewal exercise seems pointless, and doesn't keep our roads any safer.