Sharpe: Getting real

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My daughter turned 16 last week, which in New York means starting the driver’s license process.

Thanks to thoughtful advanced planning, we made an appointment with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for 1:20 p.m. the day after her birthday.

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the DMV throughout my driving career. From long waiting lines when I was a teen to making changes when I moved back to the state, to navigating the system with my son, I’ve experienced the good, the bad and the ugly.

At a visit a few months ago, thanks to a new office and a sleek online reservation process, the DMV was the model of government efficiency. I breezed in and out in about 30 minutes.

I expected a similar experience with my daughter for her learner’s permit application and written exam last Thursday.

What we didn’t plan for was the impending REAL ID deadline — May 7 — and its impact on all things license-related.

The first sign of something amiss was the security guard at the front door of the office, only allowing people in if they had an appointment within 5-10 minutes of the current time.

Fortunately, that was us, but once inside we faced a check-in line about 30 people deep — and that was just to confirm our arrival and get our number in the official queue.

There were probably about 150-200 bodies in the office with us, strewn around the room in seats and across counters, waiting anxiously for their number to be called.

Most everyone was there to get their REAL ID.

It’s a story 24 years in the making, tracing back to Sept. 11, 2001, and the deadly terrorist attacks on American soil.

To safeguard us from future vulnerabilities, the 9/11 Commission recommended that the federal government set standards for the issuance of official documents, such as driver’s licenses and identification cards.

As a result, the REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 to establish minimum security standards for license production and issuance and to prohibit federal agencies from accepting certain noncompliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. The official purposes covered by the act and regulations are accessing certain federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft and entering nuclear power plants.

Beginning May 7, 2025, anyone 18 years and older planning to fly domestically or visit certain federal facilities will need a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification.

From the looks of the DMV office I visited on April 10, people are heeding the law and getting their REAL IDs in droves — and I doubt it’s because they need to access nuclear power plants.

Where are all these people going?

Our current yo-yo economy doesn’t exactly scream vacation to me and, for those who dare, leaving the country still requires a passport.

Perhaps it’s just the security of knowing you can make a quick getaway by air, if necessary.

Or maybe it’s a mass population of rule followers, people trying to do right by the rules and follow our nation’s laws.

Maybe it’s just well-timed expiration dates on driver’s licenses forcing people to make the switch now.

The motivation might also be fear.

Whatever the reason, the DMV in New York and other offices handling driver’s licenses in states across the U.S. are crowded places to be these days.

I did my REAL ID years ago in Oklahoma, when the first deadlines were announced (before they were extended).

My son did his and now my daughter will have hers. We all have passports as well, but we’re rule followers and wanted to be prepared, just in case.

These days, it’s important to stay real.

Jennifer Sharpe is the director of communications at Oklahoma City Community College. Formerly the deputy editor of The Journal Record, her column “On the streets of Philadelphia” was the 2023 winner of the Oklahoma Press Association ONG Column Sweepstakes Award.