Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration was a little late

[Tdarcos]

My license expires this month so about three months or so ago I decided to take care of renewing it early.

Maryland now allows renew-by-mail for drivers' licenses, as opposed to going to the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA)** in person and spending 4 days in line waiting for them to call your number. (This is why MVA offices have vending machines, otherwise you'd die of thirst and starvation while waiting.)

If you're over 40 you have to have a vision exam, which wouldn't matter in my case, since I'm blind in one eye I have to have one anyway. Also, now, you can renew your license either for 4 years or 8. It's $24 for 4 or $48 for 8 years. As part of the application you can voluntarily contribute to a fund for the blind, so I decide to make it simple, I decide to contribute $2 so I buy a money order at Rite Aid for $50, since i don't want any problems (when I tried to file the fictitious name registration for "Tansin A. Darcos" the state registration agency sent it back saying they don't take personal checks, so anytime I mail the State of Maryland any funds I use a money order). You can use a credit card if you go in person to one of their offices, however.

So about two months ago, after considerable effort to find an optometrist who can handle a person in a wheelchair, I bring along my glasses I got at my previous eye exam when I had my license renewed four years ago - for nearsightedness, my vision has been adequate to drive without corrective lenses - in case my vision has changed. It hasn't, so I get the form signed off stating my vision is satisfactory for operating a class C vehicle (standard passenger license, anything not carrying passengers for hire and weighing under 26,001 pounds.)

To be on the safe side, I spend the extra $5 to mail the form in with a signature reply card to be sure MVA doesn't lose it. A couple days later I get the card back indicating they gpt my application, and about a week or so later I get my license, with the same photo that was on it four years ago. So, anyway, it says it was issued 10/01/2014, and it expires on my birthday in 2022.

Well - and I appreciate the thought, even if they were a little late about it - I got an email from the MVA this morning reminding me that my license expires this month. It did say to igniore it if I'd already registered.

I've never really gotten it, I mean, I'm a terrible procrastinator but I have never failed to renew either my driver's license nor my notary commissions well before they expire. And I do not understand why people do. I mean, even in Mayland you can renew your license any time during the last six months, and Virginia will allow you to renew your license up to two years before it expires.

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** Drivers licenses are issued by MVA here because we do not have a Department of Motor Vehicles.

[AArdvark]

I hear stories from the missus that some bank patrons wont try to renew their licenses because they owe money and dont want to be a fresh blip on the radar.