Shorter lines at the DMV

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DMV, but lax vision-test requirements

pose highway safety concerns.

South Carolina 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.

As most everyone knows, something akin to a miracle has occurred at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Lines that averaged more than an hour in September 2002 were down to 15 minutes a year later.

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.

Since June of last year, motorists have jumped at the opportunity to renew driver's licenses online or by mail. Almost 250,000 drivers have used the Internet to renew driver's licenses or perform one of the other eight transactions that once required a visit to the DMV.

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. Drivers renewing online will not have to obtain a vision test for almost 10 years. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators recommends that all drivers have a vision screening test once every four years.

Traffic safety groups last year expressed appropriate concern about loosening vision restrictions in South Carolina. The state plans eventually to require vision tests of those seeking a license renewal online — but not until Oct. 1, 2008.

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.

One of Sanford's most successful reforms has been the use of greeters at the DMV offices. Greeters answer questions and make sure visitors have the appropriate paperwork. Another effective reform has been Saturday hours at some DMV offices. Meanwhile, DMV clerks no longer have the burden of answering phones; they can deal directly with customers in the office. Calls now go to voice mail or to a call center in Columbia.

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.