I was shocked last week when I went to the DMV and observed an aggressive patron harassing the staff. The DMV needs our help, and it’s our responsibility to aid our fellow citizens before someone gets hurt.
Driving and the DMV
A fundamental part of being American is driving. Cars and trucks define our culture. And to drive, we need to be properly licensed and registered. The gateway to overseeing our love affair with driving resides with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
What I witnessed last week was horrifying. You can joke about the DMV all you want, but the fact of the matter is that we have underfunded this essential agency, and its staff are suffering.
I was being served by a staff member at Station Two when I heard loud music coming from the reception area. The woman behind the reception desk said, “Can you please turn that off?” I heard the response, “F-k you! I’ll do whatever I want.”
Then a supervisor told the man, “Turn off that music now, or you’ll have to leave the building!” To which the man answered, “I just got out of jail, and I deserve to play any music I want, whenever I want!” The supervisor insisted that the man either turn off his music or leave.
This back-and-forth shouting match lasted for over a minute until the supervisor prevailed, and the man left in a cloud of expletives. Everyone in the DMV office, patrons and staff, overheard the confrontation, casting a shadow of fear on us all. We knew that this episode could have ended in violence.
Working In Fear at the DMV
The woman helping me at Station Two said, “Not even 8:00 am and it’s started already. It’s been a bad week.” Her expression was one of resignation and despair.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Yesterday, someone picked up that pole and threw it at the wall.” She pointed to the stanchions with velvet ropes between the seating area and the service desks. “Then he threw that pile of orange cones all over the parking lot outside. We were petrified!”
“You should really have a police officer stationed here to protect you,” I said.
“We’ve asked repeatedly for police protection, but they refuse to help us. It’s dangerous in here. And we have to deal with this kind of behavior every day. I can’t take it anymore.”
Dear reader, let’s pause for a moment. The DMV needs our help. Their job is to issue licenses and registration so we can drive. Driving is an essential part of the American experience. That makes the staff at the DMV essential workers. They serve us so we can drive.
Yet, we are not serving them. Sure, our state taxes pay for their salaries and benefits. But they are working in battlefield conditions. They may not face the same degree of danger as the police, but they live with the possibility of violence just the same. And, unlike the police, they are not armed to defend themselves.
DMV Needs Our Help
We must adequately fund the DMV, so their staff can work in a safe and non-abusive environment. The state needs to hire more staff to serve patrons more quickly. And most importantly, we need police officers assigned to each DMV office at all times to protect the staff and patrons from violent, abusive patrons.
It is shameful that we underfund essential services like the DMV. We take their service for granted. Like our military and police, DMV staff need proper funding to do their jobs without unreasonable risk. Fellow citizens, let’s stop being so lazy and cheap. We live in the greatest country in the world – so let’s start acting like the greatest citizens.
Instead of complaining about the DMV, let’s do our part to ensure they have the resources they need. It’s time to treat them right.
About Raleigh Acupuncture
We’ve been serving the greater Raleigh area since 2005 with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. It’s been our pleasure helping our wonderful patients find pain relief and overcome health conditions. While this blog focuses mainly on health issues, it sometimes ventures into other areas, like today’s piece. If you are interested in acupuncture, feel free to book an appointment or send us a note using the Contact Us button. We’d love to hear from you.
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Focus keyphrase: DMV Needs Our Help
Photo by Maksim Ilyukhin: https://www.pexels.com/photo/vehicles-on-the-road-on-a-foggy-day-11839508/
