As the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) limits some walk-in services to online, a number of seniors are potentially stranded.
Starting this month, the DMV will only offer online services for driver’s license and vehicle registration renewals, driver and vehicle registration records, and replacing a driver’s license.
While the DMV is expanding its online services, touting convenience and faster processing, Korean seniors are finding it difficult to adapt to the rapid change.
Older Korean Americans, especially those who do not speak English well and do not have a computer at home cannot renew their license or vehicle without help from others.
Kwangsik Choi, 76, who recently received a notice that his driver’s license had expired, went to the DMV office near his senior apartment on June 3 but returned shaken.
“After waiting in line for over an hour, I was told that I had to go back. They said to make an appointment on the website, but I don’t have a computer at home and I’m not good with cell phones either,” Choi said. “My children don’t live near and I don’t know where to ask for help.”
“I heard that the Real ID deadline is under a year, so I went to the office last week to apply for one, but the staff said I had to upload my documents online. It was quite difficult for me to understand how it works,” said Younghee Kim, 71, a resident of Angelus Plaza. “I begged for help because I don’t have a computer and I finally could apply, but I was a little upset.”
The DMV is encouraging visitors to use the DMV kiosk if they don’t have internet or a computer at home, but it’s not easy to use for the elders either.
In Los Angeles Koreatown, the kiosk is located at Ralph’s located at 3rd Street and Vermont Avenue. Although it offers Korean as a language option, only a few Korean-American seniors know how to use it.
“I didn’t even know there was a DMV kiosk here,” Grace Han, 44, told the Korea Daily at Ralph’s. “My parents are in their 70s and are already worried about renewing their driver’s licenses. I think it will be difficult for those who are not familiar with technologies.”
Nevertheless, the DMV plans to continue to expand its online services. Driver’s license tests for drivers over 70 are also available online.
“We have been expanding our digital service system since the pandemic,” DMV said, emphasizing that the expansion of online and kiosk services will reduce the number of people traveling to offices by 200,000 per month and speed up the processing of complaints.
To apply for a Real ID, visitors must fill out an application on the website, upload documents online, and schedule an appointment to visit an available location.
BY NICOLE CHANG, HOONSIK WOO [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
