Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Information of Interest About Driver Licenses and Identification Cards - November 2010

HELP YOURSELF AND OTHERS: Florida residents wishing to obtain a new driver license or identification card, legally change their name prior to their renewal date, or immediately replace a lost or stolen license or ID card, need to come prepared with the proper documentation. The time you and others will spend completing a transaction at the first office visit is directly related to having the required proper documentation. The complete list of acceptable documents is available online at http://www.gathergoget.com./ Here is a summary of the requirements:

1) Identification – A certified U.S. birth certificate (hospital birth certificates are not accepted); a valid U.S. passport; a consular Report of Birth Abroad; a certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); or a certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561).
2) Social Security Number – Card, W-2 form, paycheck or any 1099 form.
3) Residential Address – Two (2) items mailed to you that contain your address. Acceptable is a mortgage statement, voter ID card, a utility bill or a car insurance policy.

Anyone who has changed their name must bring marriage certificates, court orders or divorce decrees to connect the name on the primary identification to the name of the customer and the name in which the license or ID card will be issued.

Immigrants and non-immigrants can secure a complete list of documents to bring to one of our offices by visiting http://www.gathergoget.com/, or http://www.reunavengaobtenga.com/ in Spanish, or http://www.rasanblealepran.com/ in Creole.

BE INFORMED BEFORE YOU COME: DHSMV continues its focus on a campaign dedicated to assisting Floridians with new driver license and identification card requirements. DHSMV encourages all Floridians to gather your documents, go to a driver license office and get your new card. http://www.gathergoget.com%20/will enable residents to:
• Determine when they will need to visit a driver license or tax collector’s office.
• Create a personalized checklist detailing documents they will need.
• Obtain contact information showing where to get required documents.
• Browse a list of driver license offices in their local area.

The campaign and its tools are also available in Spanish at http://www.reunavengaobtenga.com/ and in Creole at http://www.rasanblealepran.com./

BIRTH CERTIFICATES FROM PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico birth certificates will continue being valid until September 30, 2010. New birth certificates began to be issued on July 1, 2010 and will have indefinite validity. More information on developments regarding Puerto Rican birth certificates is available on the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) web site at http://www.prfaa.com./

GET AN APPOINTMENT, SAVE TIME! All customers who must visit one of our offices to renew, replace, or file a change of address to their driver license or identification card, are urged to secure an appointment prior to their visit. Connect via Internet at http://www.flhsmv.gov/oasis%20for an appointment to greatly reduce the length of the visit. Also link to the on-line pre-application and complete it before coming to one of our offices.

EMERGENCY CONTACT REGISTRATION: DHSMV’s award-winning Emergency Contact Information program, a tool that law enforcement can use to quickly contact loved ones in case of an accident. The system allows licensed drivers and identification card holders to submit two contacts to notify in the event of an emergency. The information can then be accessed only by law enforcement officers to find designated contacts in case of emergency. Visit www.flhsmv.gov/eci to register your Emergency Contact Information.

KEY INFORMATION FOR PARENTS ON TEEN DRIVING: The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has a parents section on its teen driving website www.flhsmv.gov/teens. The website provides parents with useful information to help them teach their teens to become safe drivers. Florida’s graduated driver licensing program allows teens to obtain a learner’s permit at age 15, which restricts them to driving only under certain conditions with a licensed adult. Other restrictions apply to teens with an operator’s license until their 18th birthday.

The website aims to ensure that both parents and teens have a complete understanding of the law, an explanation of each phase of the graduated licensing program and the related restrictions. Certain behaviors are associated with the cause of the high fatality rate of teen drivers including: inexperience and immaturity combined with speed, alcohol consumption, not wearing seatbelts, distractions, drowsiness, and driving when visibility is limited. The website includes a driving guide and a driving log to track the 50 hours of practice that teens must record to obtain their intermediate operator’s license. To visit the website, please go to: www.flhsmv.gov/teens.

OFFICE SCHEDULE: Driver license offices in Florida are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Testing guidelines, that continue to provide excellent customer service, call for the start of the last oral examination and CDL test to begin each day at 3:30 p.m. The last written examinations and driving tests begin each day at 4:30 p.m. Please check our website at www.flhsmv.gov/offices/ for the most up-to-date information on office locations and schedules.

CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVE: The Division of Driver Licenses has implemented a Customer Service Initiative named “Miami CSI.” Members from the Department proactively joined together to address the increased customer wait times in many of our offices in Miami-Dade and some parts of Broward Counties. Volunteers from other offices around the state the Division worked together to heighten customer service by assisting with screening documents, administering driving tests and issuing credentials.


The Department has developed a strategic long-term plan to address the increased customer volume and wait times in offices, which includes quickly filling personnel vacancies in that area, moving personnel vacancies from other areas of the state to ensure adequate permanent staffing coverage. In a few of the offices, there were over 100 customers waiting when the office opened its doors. As a result, those offices began opening a half hour earlier, to try and accommodate those customers more quickly. Thanks to all the members who work so hard each day throughout the state, and all of our members who volunteered to travel to South Florida to pitch in!

You Snooze, You Lose – Don’t Drive Drowsy


You Snooze, You Lose – Don’t Drive Drowsy

A Florida family turns their tragedy into a campaign to save lives.

Driver fatigue leads to 1,550 fatalities and 71,000 crashes each year in the United States. While those numbers may seem like boring statistics, it is more than that to Ronshay Dugans’ family. It is a sad reality.

In 2008, a driver fell asleep at the wheel of a cement truck in Tallahassee and slammed into the bus carrying 8-year-old Ronshay.  While Ronshay’s death is a tragedy, her family wants to share it so that other families do not have to suffer a loss like the one they have. They worked with State Rep. Alan Williams to champion new legislation to create the Ronshay Dugans Act. The Act designates the first week of September as Drowsy Driving Prevention Week in Florida.   

This special week brings attention to the public safety issue at a critical time when millions of motorists are planning long weekend road trips for the Labor Day holiday. To remind motorists of their responsibility as a driver to be alert and sober behind the wheel, Florida’s departments of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and of Transportation have teamed up with Representative Williams and Ronshay’s family to launch a public awareness and education campaign. The campaign theme, You Snooze, You Lose – Don’t Drive Drowsy, uses an old adage in its literal interpretation to remind drivers of the potential consequences that falling asleep at the wheel can have.

Do you know whose eyelids are most at-risk of dropping anchor while at the wheel? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drivers in the following three groups pose the highest risk of drowsy driving:

·         Young people (ages 16 to 29), especially males.

·         Shift workers whose sleep is disrupted by working at night or working long or irregular hours.

·         People with untreated sleep apnea syndrome and narcolepsy.

Regardless of a driver’s vocation, age, sex, health condition or other characteristics, any driver can become overconfident and fall victim to driving while drowsy – regardless of the time of day.  Measures that drivers can take to arm themselves against the Sandman are:

  • Catch some ZZZZ’s before you get behind the wheel. A good night’s sleep goes a long way to prevent drowsy driving.

  • Bring a buddy. By having another driver on board, you have someone to share the driving responsibilities and help keep one another alert.

  • Take a break. Stopping to get out and stretch your legs every few hours or even to catch a quick nap will help you recharge your battery.

  • Drive sober. Alcohol and driving never mix. Also, heed prescription medication labels and any warnings that say they may make you drowsy.

Fatigue and drowsiness can impair your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, which not only puts you and your passengers at risk, but also it places everyone else on the road with you at-risk. For more information about drowsy driving and the campaign, visit www.dot.state.fl.us/safety and remember – You Snooze, You Lose – Don’t Drive Drowsy.

Modesto W. Burgos
Community Liaison
DHSMV / DDL

Get the information you need and save a trip! Visit www.GatherGoGet.com
¡Obtenga la información que necesita y ahórrese un viaje! Visite www.ReunaVengaObtenga.com
Vini ak bon dokiman yo epi w ap fé ekonomi yon dezyém vwayaj ¡ www.RasanbleAlePran.com


The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is committed to Service, Integrity, Courtesy, Professionalism, Innovation and Excellence in all we do. Please let us know how we are doing via our online customer service survey at www.flhsmv.gov.