As the backup continues at Florida DMVs, NBC 6 has also learned parents are shelling out money to get their child a drivers license faster.
Driving schools like AB Auto Driving and Traffic School in Miami Gardens say they’re seeing business double all because of the backup at the DMV, but not everyone can afford that option.
Video shared on Only in Dade showed the chaos at the DMV.
“It’s a zoo,” said mom Jiny Landazury.
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Landazury started recording during her visit to a Miami DMV location. She said she and her daughter showed up two hours before the DMV opened, hoping her daughter could take a driving test.
“We’ve been at this for more than three months now before her birthday since July, and there is no way to make an appointment with her schedule. She has to go with me so that she uses my car,” Landazury said.
After hours of waiting, they ended up leaving empty-handed.
“Parents are fed up, for sure we have seen quite an increase in people coming in here,” said Eder Lopez, a supervisor at AB Auto Driving School.
Driving schools like AB Auto Driving School are benefitting from the backup. Parents are shelling out $100 to have their kids take the driving test there.
“Although it’s a paid service, people would rather come here,” Lopez said.
Landazury says she doesn’t want to shell out the money, but trying to get her daughter a driver’s license has become a full-time job and she’s running out of options.
“I really have no idea," Landazury said when she was asked about her next move. "But we are thinking about waking up this Saturday to be there at 4:30 a.m.”
Even if you pay for the class and test, you still have to go to the DMV to get your picture taken and get your physical license. But you don’t need an appointment, and you can just walk in. So even with a wait, people are finding that the process is sped up by using a private company for the test portion.
In a statement, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said they're aware of the third-party appointment brokers.
"We are discouraged that these third parties are taking advantage of the situation, and are in turn making the situation worse," the statement said. "Since these brokers were first detected, FLHSMV has committed significant resources to review appointment requests and, as a result, cancels approximately 1,000 fictitious appointments per day. In addition, we’re working with the vendor of our appointment system to explore ways to prevent these fictitious appoints and using automated tools to pinpoint and cancel appointments created by third-party brokers."
The department said they never charge customers fees for booking appointments and can't guarantee appointments booked through third parties will be honored.
