MORRIS COUNTY — Some drivers would find reprieve from the hours-long line at the Motor Vehicle Commission under a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Aura Dunn and passed by the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee today.
The bill (A4632) requires the MVC to make the written portion of the driver’s license exam available online during the Covid-19 public health emergency.
“I refuse to wait idly while the administration continues to steer us in the wrong direction. My measure provides a practical solution to a big problem at the MVC,” said Dunn (R-Morris). “The administration has let drivers wait in the heat for hours during the middle of a pandemic when we live in a digital age and a vast majority of us are learning and working from home.”
After a nearly four-month coronavirus shutdown, the MVC reopened in July to frustrated drivers who stood for multiple hours waiting to get into an agency. The backlog has not improved as people continue to snake around buildings during what many health experts are calling New Jersey’s second wave of Covid-19 outbreaks.
“We can and should move certain services online to protect people’s health and save time during the pandemic,” said Dunn.
Those taking driver’s license exams online would need to certify that they did not use any reference materials or receive assistance from another individual. Drivers under 18 would be required to have a parent or guardian present.