Horde tries to beat BMV cutoff

The impending increase in government service fees and a change in regulation to soon require applicants to undergo driver education resulted in a huge crowd of people flocking to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Susupe last Friday.

The situation was compounded by the belated arrival of the film supply for driver’s licenses and a series of power outages.

To accommodate the hundreds of customers, the BMV, at the instruction of Public Safety Commissioner Claudio K. Norita, opened on Saturday for those who wished to take the driver’s written test and for those who already paid for the actual driving test on Friday.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune on Friday, BMV director Juana C. Leon Guerrero said about 300 to 400 people showed up since that morning.

“It’s too crowded,” Leon Guerrero said when asked why it was so hot at the BMV.

Last Thursday, BMV had a lot of customers too, but most of them were sent home because of the islandwide power outage that day.

“Most of these customers that are here today were here yesterday [Thursday] but we had to send them home because of the power outages and we don’t want to keep them here,” Leon Guerrero said.

The official said they ran out of films since Friday last week and their supply from New York only arrived on Thursday.

Other reasons cited were the on-and-off power, increase of government fees effective today, June 2, and the registration of vehicles at the end of the month.

Leon Guerrero said many customers also took the written test because of the law that will require first-time driver’s license applicants to undergo driver education.

Last Friday, a power outage occurred at noon, prompting Leon Guerrero to advise customers to return at 2pm that day.

“My advice to people is bear with us. Be patient. We are trying to accommodate everybody,” she said.

With respect to the driver education, Norita is reportedly working on the implementation of a law that will require all first-time driver’s license applicants to undergo formal education at a DPS certified school.

Norita and Leon Guerrero collaborated with Driver Training Academy’s Richard Puhalla to complete the driver education project that began in August 2006.

On May 5, 2008 Public Law 15-25 or the Mandatory Driver Education Act of 2006 was enacted. The Acts’ rules and regulations have been submitted, approved, and adopted. The enforcement of the Act is slated to start today, June 2.

When that occurs, all first-time driver license applicants will be required to complete 30 hours of classroom and six hours of laboratory instruction at a DPS certified school.

Similarly, the students will need to log 24 hours of additional behind-the-wheel practice accompanied by an adult licensed to drive in the CNMI.