Barry Saunders: Watch your toes, and other tips from my REAL ID journey | Opinion
You know what?
Maybe $45 isn’t that much after all.
That’s the thought that creeps into one’s mind after you’ve been standing outside the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles in 22-degree weather for 30 minutes waiting to get your REAL ID – and realize that you still have 30 minutes to go before the doors open.
The Transportation Security Administration recently mandated that anyone seeking to fly without a REAL ID will be charged $45 to use a new identification confirmation service at the airport.
Ouch.
For some of us, $45 can get a half a tank of gas or a half a bag of groceries – as long as the only meat you expect to get is potted meat or Vienna sausages.
One thing $45 won’t get, though, is a pinky toe to replace the one I felt in danger of losing to frostbite while standing in line.
I arrived at the DMV on Miami Boulevard in Durham at 6:15 a.m., but that was only good enough for 18th in line. The day before, I’d been turned away from two DMV offices at midday after being told that they were not taking any more REAL ID clients that day. I was also instructed that to ensure service, I needed to get there when the office opened – no, before it opened – at 7 a.m. This instruction was delivered in whispered tones to the customer in front of me and then to me - and days later I discovered why: DMV communications director Marty Homan told me that the department doesn’t want people showing up before it opens.
Too bad neither I nor the people lined up in front of me in the cold knew that beforehand. Some eager beavers had brought lawn chairs in which to sit, and one young man sat in his motorized wheelchair that he operated with impressive dexterity despite being bundled in blankets.
At precisely 7, a DMV employee opened the door and asked if anyone had an appointment: one woman far behind me did, and he let her in. Two minutes later he returned and let more people in: apparently the capacity in the lobby was 17, because when I reached the door he held up his hand, politely said “Wait right here” and pulled the door closed.
At least I felt a promising whoosh of warm air from inside as he shut the door in my face.
DMV employees with whom I spoke during my three recent visits to their offices said they’ve been busier than usual since last summer. DMV communications director Homan, though, said “There has been no noticeable increase in demand at our driver license offices since the TSA made their announcement.”
Well, how come people are being told to come early to apply for the REAL ID? I asked.
“We do not tell people to arrive before our offices open,” Homan said in a written reply. “We actually discourage it. I am aware that people may arrive at offices by 6 a.m. (or earlier), but again, we discourage it. If you arrive at or shortly after opening, we’ll get you checked-in as quickly as we can so you can wait from anywhere. We text you with a link, so you can virtually watch your place in line. We text you again when to come back to the office.”
He’s right about that part. Once I got inside and registered, I went back to the car and blasted the heat and the radio. One of the songs that came on the 70s channel while I waited was Barry Manilow’s “Trying To Get The Feeling Again,” which was apropos because that’s precisely what I was trying to do to my pinky toe.
After about 20 minutes, I received the text message telling me to come back in. I did, and the whole enterprise went effortlessly and smoothly. The employees were courteous and professional.
As a public service announcement intended to save time and toes, here’s something I learned days later from Homan: you can use other forms of ID to avoid spending your potted meat and Vienna sausages money for the right to fly. He cited passports, passport cards, military IDs, permanent resident cards, among others.
You’re welcome.
Barry Saunders, a longtime columnist with the News & Observer, is a contributing columnist.