Computer glitches make for slow going at MVD
Agency unable to process driver’s licenses, title requests as computers go down Monday and Tuesday
Drivers aiming to beat the lines at New Mexico’s Motor Vehicle Division offices early Tuesday morning were turned away after a technical glitch caused a statewide outage of two of the agency’s crucial computer systems.
The glitch initially started wreaking havoc “intermittently,” in one- to two-hour stretches, on Monday. The systems were inaccessible again for about two hours Tuesday morning.
During the on-again, off-again outages, MVD officials were unable to process driver’s licenses and vehicle title requests.
Kevin Kelley, a division spokesman, said the state’s servers seemed to be having trouble communicating with two nationwide databases — the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators system, which allow MVD workers to confirm customers’ eligibility for licenses and titles.
By midafternoon Tuesday, the
issue seemed to have been resolved, Kelley said.
“The MVD is currently able to process driver and vehicle transactions statewide and continues to monitor the IT network,” Kelley said in an emailed statement. “We thank our customers for their patience as the issue is resolved.”
At about 3 p.m. Tuesday, at the division facility on Camino Entrada on Santa Fe’s south side, about 80 customers waited to see an agent, numbered tickets in hand. For some, it had been a long day.
Mike Martinez, a 57-year-old Santa Fe resident had been there since noon. Another man, who declined to give his name for fear of ruining professional relationships he’s developed with division workers, said he’d arrived at 10:30 a.m., just after the systems came online.
“It looks like the wheels have come off the MVD,” said Bruce Fort, a 61-year-old Santa Fe resident who had just arrived.
Behind the counter, supervisor Michelle Fresquez said the intermittent outages had made for a busy afternoon.
“It greatly impacts them,” she said, referring to customers. “This morning, we probably had 20 people in here, and they left immediately (when the systems were down). Then, toward the end of the day, we get this.”
She gestured toward the dozens of customers waiting nearby — some of whom, she said, had returned after being turned away in the morning.