For the second time in less than a month, a computer outage has brought statewide driver licensing to a grinding halt.
Monday's outage is the result of the loss of service from a network that connects motor vehicle agencies across the U.S. to each other and to various verification services. A news release from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security sent around noon Monday said the problem had been fixed after lasting about two-and-a-half hours, but a follow-up release sent around 1:30 p.m. said the computer system was again not working.
The outage that began at 10 a.m. meant "there was no ability to process messages that support transactions of driver licenses and motor vehicle titles," the release states. "This outage prevented a number of motor vehicle agencies from issuing driver licenses and vehicle titles during that time. The network is operated by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)."
Monday's announcement comes three days shy of a month after a similar computer issue crippled driver licensing offices across the state on Dec. 16. That outage lasted for the better part of the day. A spokesman for the safety department said the December outage is not related to Monday's.