FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2001
Contact: SID GAULDEN, (803) 896-8755
NEW DRIVER’S LICENSE EQUIPMENT TO BE INSTALLED
IN AREA OFFICES AS PART OF DMV’S PROJECT PHOENIX
COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announces that it will install new driver’s license equipment in eight offices next week in the Upstate area. The Irmo/Ballentine branch office and the Lexington branch office near Columbia were the first to receive the new equipment beginning the week of April 16. These two offices have served as test sites for the new equipment before it’s rolled out to the 70 Division of Motor Vehicles branch offices statewide.
The following branch offices will close for one day each next week while technicians install the equipment and employees are trained. The dates for installation and closings are as follows: Spartanburg (Fairforest Road) and Greenville (Laurens Road), May 7; Spartanburg (Southport Road) and Greenville (Saluda Dam Road), May 8; Woodruff and Pickens, May 9; Fountain Inn and Belton, May 11.
"So far, the equipment installations and production testing have gone very well in our test offices near Columbia," said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. "We have had a few minor problems that we have been able to correct, but overall I think our customers have been pleased with a much shorter wait time for getting a new license."
It took the old driver’s license equipment around 10 to 15 minutes to print one driver’s license. The new equipment can print seven to 10 credentials in about 10 minutes, substantially reducing customer wait time.
In this first phase of the rollout, all driver’s license equipment will be replaced. DMV offices will receive new computers, new machines to issue driver’s licenses and new driver’s license testing equipment. The driver’s license also will have a new look. The software applications, new DMV database and vehicle registration equipment will be installed in the offices in the Fall of 2001.
No more than two offices in the state will close on any given day, and customers will be notified in advance of the closings so they can arrange to visit other offices or wait until the next business day to complete their transactions. This initial rollout of new equipment should be completed by the end of June. Information about office closings will be available through the DPS web site at www.scdps.org.
** Attention editors: Media will be allowed access to the closed Greenville Laurens Road office on May 7 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. as the computer equipment is installed.
**Also, Thursday, May 10 is a state holiday (Confederate Memorial Day) and all DMV offices will be closed that day.
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