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by tablespoon 1304 days ago
> To play devils advocate - sometimes the system itself is not just broken, it’s completely wrong! Where I’m from(Sweden) I can’t imagine going to the DMV even for just a second. So asking for better staffing at the service counters at the DMV sounds silly to me

Do you not have driving tests in Sweden? Does Sweden allow residents to submit any random picture of their choice for their drivers license?

As an American, the only times I have to go to the DMV are when I have renew my license (every 4-5 year), and that seems mainly to take a (simple) vision test and get my photo taken. They also give tests to new drivers and people moving in from out of state.
2 comments
piva00 1304 days ago
Any time I had to go to Traffikverket (equivalent to the DMV), Skatteverket (tax agency, your IRS) or Polisen (the police, to get passports or national IDs) which are the only 3 agencies that I had ever to interact with to get pictures collected from, I book an appointment online for a time slot; I show up 10-15 min before my scheduled time and wait for the call for my booking; Go in, talk to someone, take pictures/collect fingerprints and get out.

It's very, very easy.

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tablespoon 1303 days ago
> I show up 10-15 min before my scheduled time and wait for the call for my booking; Go in, talk to someone, take pictures/collect fingerprints and get out.

The last time I personally did license renewal, I waited approximately that long without an appointment, and the place had a line out the door.

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piva00 1303 days ago
Having an appointment at least makes you sure you will get it done around that time and schedule your day around it. Showing up without one makes it impossible to plan for the rest of the day if you are unfortunate to go do it on a bad day, no?
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tablespoon 1303 days ago
> Having an appointment at least makes you sure you will get it done around that time and schedule your day around it. Showing up without one makes it impossible to plan for the rest of the day if you are unfortunate to go do it on a bad day, no?

Theoretically yes, but practically it's moot. Were I live I don't think I've ever had to wait in line more than 10-15 minutes, even at what seemed to be "busy times." If the wait times are that short, it's more trouble to make an appointment and still wait about that long.

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RussianCow 1303 days ago
> Were I live I don't think I've ever had to wait in line more than 10-15 minutes, even at what seemed to be "busy times."

That's nice for you. Every time I've gone to my local DMV I've waited at least 45 minutes, even with an appointment. Luckily I work remotely so I could work from the waiting area, but most people don't have that luxury and are forced to take an indefinite time off of work to go to the DMV.

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Gud 1303 days ago
Yes we do! Now that I think about it, the main difference seem to be that in the US, you show up at (appointed?) date and stand in a queue to wait forever while in Sweden we show up at an appointed time.
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tablespoon 1303 days ago
> Yes we do! Now that I think about it, the main difference seem to be that in the US, you show up at (appointed?) date and stand in a queue to wait forever while in Sweden we show up at an appointed time.

That's not something you can generalize about in the US. Here, driver licensing is a state-level function, it's done >50 different ways. It's not even official done by the "DMV" everywhere, but that's what they call in in California, so that's what they call it on TV. Even in my state it's hard to generalize, since they allow contractors to perform almost all the common functions in their businesses.

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