Mississippi driver's license process: Long lines, long wait

PEARL, Miss. (AP) — Getting a new driver's license in Mississippi can be a multiday ordeal with long lines at Department of Public Safety stations that are short-staffed.

"It's just a mess, having to wait in line like this," said 18-year-old Stuart Alcorn of Raymond, who was back at a station outside Pearl last week for his fifth time.

He said that after waiting one day, examiners would not administer his road test because it was raining. After waiting several hours three other days, he said he didn't get to take either his written test or his road test because too many people were in front of him and the office closed before everyone was served.

"There's only 30 people ahead of me now," Alcorn said as he studied for the written exam Wednesday. "Hopefully, I'll get in."

Alcorn wasn't the only one frustrated. Debbie Smith of Jackson and her 18-year-old son, Zachary Smith, went to the Pearl station Tuesday afternoon but left without getting served. They arrived back at the station at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, 40 minutes before it opened, then waited nearly two hours before he was called to take his test.

"They absolutely need more help here," said Debbie Smith, a home health worker who sometimes drives past the station and sees people waiting outside.

Lines are a problem in other parts of the state, as well. On the Gulf Coast, people have waited hours to get licensed.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is requesting more money to fill vacant jobs for driver's license examiners, but it's unclear whether legislators will fulfill that request. Negotiators are in the final days of setting the overall state budget for the year that begins July 1.

"It's hard to say right now," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Buck Clarke, a Republican from Hollandale. "We're going to look at it."

The Department of Public Safety says it has 134 jobs for regular driver's license examiners, but 48 are vacant. It has 44 jobs for com-