If you are a freshman or sophomore or maybe even older, you might have noticed how backed up the DMV is. Drivers Ed for the schools in Wake County are extremely backed up, to the point where you could be a junior before you are able to take it. Many people are outraged with how long it’s going to take. Private driving schools are hundreds of dollars and not only do you have to do thirty hours of the learning course, but  you also have six hours of hands-on driving. This can be very expensive and not everyone has that kind of money to spend. 

Not only are the driving schools and classes backed up, but so are the DMVs. 90% of the DMVs in Wake County are booked until 2023  or longer. Now that they’ve gone back to the original permit rules, and students have to have their permit for a year before they can get their provisional license, people are having to wait even longer to be able to drive. People wanting to get their license also have to wait due to the lack of staff at the DMV’s. 

I talked to one student who has yet to be able to find a driving school with open spots. Sophomore Abigail Kalika said, “I want to take Drivers Ed, but everywhere my parents and I have looked there are no open spots. It really sucks because my parents can’t always drive me around, and it even limits where I can work because I wouldn’t be able to get there. I would really like to be able to drive so I can go see my friends and have more freedom.” 

Other students as well feel the same way and wish to be able to drive by their junior year, but at this rate that might not be a possibility. Hopefully this problem is fixed soon once it starts flowing smoothly, and more people start working at the DMV again.