Sweepers, hands snag road debris
Sir: With the frequent use of concrete bunkerlike lane dividers on our four- and six-lane highways, the trash problem increases, an unintended consequence, perhaps, of that design. How is the above addressed? Slow-moving street sweepers, human or mechanical, must be hazards. — Jennie
Dear Jennie: The Arkansas Department of Transportation says that on multilane highways it uses a combination of street sweepers and humans, the latter to pick up the larger trash. Like maybe the tire we saw the other day leaning up against the side of the Interstate 30 bridge over the Arkansas River. Big, big tire.
On other highways, ArDot has an army of Adopt-A-Highway volunteers who pick up roadside trash. Indeed, there are now 944 such volunteer groups.
In other news, the state Department of Finance and Administration has asked this column to spread the word about new initiatives that will make it easier to do business with the agency.
We’re happy to help, since everyone at the finance department is nice to us, especially the folks at the Revenue Office whose door we occasionally darken. Invariably, we are confused about what pieces of paper to have and what to do with them. Invariably, those folks are helpful and cheerful and never roll their eyes.
It’s now possible, the agency reports, to do all sorts of stuff without actually going to a Revenue Office. This is accomplished, naturally, through the magic of technology.
FYI: Technology can be a mixed bag. Just this week The Fabulous Babe was annoyed at our failure to remember or write down the multiplicity of passwords required to function in the online world. At some point, we threatened to take a hammer to our smartphone. It was that kind of day.
Back to the topic at hand. Go to mydmv.arkansas.gov and do the following, all of which obviates the necessity of doing such business in person.
Check title status online.
Transfer ownership. Folks can notify the Office of Motor Vehicles if they’ve sold a vehicle to a dealer or to an individual. (Someday The Mahatma will sell his girly car, and then buy a Dodge Challenger Hellcat with 707 horsepower. Ha!)
Estimate sales tax. Before the vehicle is registered, find out what humongous amount of sales tax must be paid to the state. (Let’s review that Hellcat idea.)
Pre-registration for first-time license or identification card. Doing so will reduce time spent at the Revenue Office.
Change of address notification. State law requires notification within 10 days of a change of address. Do it online, baby.
Other services are available online. The finance agency reports that there were 2 million visits to the state’s Revenue Offices. The goal is to save time for customers and eliminate hundreds of thousands of visits to these offices.
Vanity plate seen in Bryant: SOLVE4X. This reminds us of the most frightening words we ever heard in a classroom — “Now all you have to do is solve for X” — after which a pall of doom descended.