Dorothy Melvin, center, gets help from Charline Kilpatrick as she fills out a form to get a new license with her photo on it. Dorothy and Joshua Melvin added photos to their driver’s licenses at the Driver Services Center on Monday afternoon as part of the state’s new law that requires a photo ID to vote.
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State stats say it takes 53 minutes on average for someone to get a driver’s license from one of Tennessee’s 48 driver service centers.
But those suffering through the process say the ordeal actually can last hours and even require multiple trips.
The difference? Official stats only take into account the time that elapses between a customer entering the building and getting served. They don’t include time customers often must spend in line before they actually get inside the service center, let alone the occasional need for coming more than once.
“This is from the time someone pulls a number to be served [meaning they are inside the building],” said Jennifer Donnals, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. “It does not include the wait time before then as there is no accurate way to determine that time.”