Florida DMV system issues cause major delays for Polk County customers
DMV system upgrade complaints
A new statewide system update at the DMV is causing quite a headache for Polk County customers and staff alike. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.
LAKELAND, Fla. - A new statewide system update at the DMV is causing quite a headache for Polk County customers and staff alike.
It has caused major delays and longer wait times — sometimes lasting hours.
Florida DMV system disruption
The backstory:
The problem started in January when the state of Florida switched over to a new computer system called "Orion" for all DMV work — primarily registration and title work.
Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder said the system started experiencing issues, such as slowing down and crashing.
"About two and a half to three weeks ago, it started happening throughout the day," Tedder said. "It would shut down and not even come back on. They weren't able to tell us what the problem was, and more importantly, they couldn't tell us when that was going to be resolved."
For example, if the entire system went down for 30 minutes, customers would have to wait up to two and a half hours.
Customers impacted
Why you should care:
Tedder says this has seriously disrupted customers' lives.
"If somebody has a job interview, and they've received an appointment in the morning on Thursday, and they have a job interview at 2 p.m., and we say, 'I'm sorry, we can't do your driver's license, and we don't know when we can,' that is extremely impactful for that individual," Tedder said.
Tedder says his staff is bearing the brunt of that frustration. He notes the problem has improved, but they are still experiencing hiccups every day.
Tedder wishes the state were more proactive in articulating what the problem is and who is responsible.
"Our desire is for them to tell us they have an idea of what the problem is, they have a solution, and they're going to become the vocal partner in telling the citizens what is going on," Tedder said.
Tedder's message for customers is that his staff understands their frustration, and he asks them to be patient. He encourages people to keep putting pressure on the state so they can ultimately fully resolve this issue.
State monitoring ongoing issues
What's next:
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued a statement a week ago saying they're aware of ongoing performance issues. They say their teams are actively monitoring the situation and working toward a full solution.
The Source: This article was written with information from the Polk County Tax Collector and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.