S.C. motorists no doubt are celebrating the much-shorter lines at the DMV, although traffic safety groups are likely to cry foul at the loosening of vision-test requirements for drivers.

This is an impressive change for a department that had been a pain in the neck for South Carolinians and a high-profile example of a government agency that didn't work.

Credit for the shorter DMV lines goes to Gov. Mark Sanford who spearheaded the effort to extensively reform the department. A DMV spokeswoman attributed the shorter lines to two main reforms: the expansion of online services, and the use of greeters in DMV offices.

A concern is that motorists under the age of 65 are not required to have a vision test when renewing a driver's license online. That means South Carolina has one of the most lenient vision-test standards in the nation.

Motorists who renew a driver's license at the DMV office may obtain a 10-year license. Those licenses still require a vision test every five years but a DMV spokesman said the department hasn't figured out how to enforce that vision requirement.

Greeters and other reforms have made the DMV a more efficient and customer-friendly agency. Motorists are pleased, but state officials should make sure that the lax vision-test requirements don't make South Carolina's deadly highways even more dangerous.