46 More DMV Field Offices Reopening to Public

We are sharing with you a news release from DMV regarding offices reopening,

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 26, 2020 

46 More DMV Field Offices Reopening to Public 

Starting Thursday, 71 facilities will serve customers with appointments or specific transactions 

Customers encouraged to use online and expanded virtual services 

Sacramento – The California Department of Motor Vehicles will reopen 46 more field offices throughout the state on Thursday, May 28, for a total of 71 locations assisting customers with a current appointment at the specific office and limited transactions that require an in-person visit. The DMV has begun rescheduling prior appointments and notifying customers of the new date. The DMV, which initially reopened 25 offices earlier this month, continues to encourage customers to use online services, its expanded virtual services and other service channels to complete transactions, including eligible driver license and vehicle registration renewals. 

Beginning Thursday, the following 46 field offices will open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception of opening at 9 a.m. Wednesday: Bell Gardens Bellflower Chula Vista Clovis 
Colusa Corte Madera Daly City El Cajon 
Eureka Fairfield Fremont Fresno North 
Garberville Hawthorne Laguna Hills Merced 
Newhall Oakland Coliseum Pasadena Pittsburg 
Pleasanton Pomona Poway Rancho Cucamonga 
Riverside East Roseville Sacramento San Bernardino 
San Diego Clairemont San Luis Obispo San Mateo San Ysidro 
Santa Clara South Lake Tahoe South Sacramento Temecula 
Thousand Oaks Torrance Tracy Turlock 
Van Nuys Ventura Victorville Visalia 
West Covina Westminster 
To safeguard the health of employees and customers, the DMV temporarily closed all offices to the public March 27. Following cleaning of the offices, expansion of virtual services and development of new protocols, the DMV is reopening offices in stages. The DMV is selecting offices to reopen based on location, size, service capacity and the ability to offer enhanced service to commercial driver license customers. Behind-the-wheel drive tests continue to be suspended.
Employees will maintain physical distancing while serving customers with existing appointments and Californians in need of selected transactions that can only be completed in a DMV field office, including:
Paying registration for a vehicle impounded because of registration-related issues
Reinstating a suspended or revoked driver license
Applying for a reduced-fee or no-fee identification card
Processing commercial driver license transactions
Applying for a disabled person parking placards (this can also be done by mail using the REG 195 form)
Adding an ambulance certificate or firefighter endorsement to a driver license
Verifying a transit training document to drive a transit bus.
Processing DMV Express customers for REAL ID transactions, if time and space allow
In order to focus field office services to these select transactions, DMV staff may direct customers to online services and other available options to complete their transactions.
Employees in the remainder of DMV’s 170 public offices will provide services through the Virtual Field Office. The DMV plans to continue reopening these offices to the public in phases during the coming weeks. More information on office openings will be provided on the DMV website.
In addition to physical distancing, employees have access to disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, facial shields, gloves and soap and water. The DMV also is providing hand-washing stations for customer use in select locations. Customers are required to wear a face covering and remain 6 feet apart in line. Customers will also be offered a text message that will allow them to wait outside the building until notified they are ready to be served. Entry into the building will be metered, and customers may experience extended wait times.
Californians who do not have an urgent need to go to a DMV field office should delay their visit.
The DMV continues to provide essential services via mail, online, kiosks, call centers, available business partners and virtually to process critical transactions, including eligible driver license and vehicle registration renewals, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can use the Service Advisor on the DMV website to learn their options to complete DMV tasks.
The DMV has taken a number of actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
Extending driver licenses that expire between March 1 and July 31, 2020. Drivers 70 years and older are receiving a 120-day temporary paper extension in the mail, and drivers 69 and younger can request a free temporary paper extension online.
Keeping expiring commercial licenses, learner’s permits, endorsements and certificates valid through June 30, 2020.
Extending identification cards expiring on or after March 4, 2020, to be valid through June 21, 2020.
Waiving late fees and penalties for vehicle registration renewals due between March 16 and May 31, 2020, and paid within 60 days of the original expiration date, as well as delaying other requirements.
Temporarily waiving required in-person renewals for eligible driver license and identification cardholders with expirations between March and May 2020. Individuals who meet the criteria are able to renew online or by mail.
Launching the DMV Virtual Field Office to create new digital options for transactions that previously required an in-person office visit.
Extending driver license permits expiring between March and August 2020.
Canceling all behind-the-wheel drive tests to honor social distancing guidelines. 
Suspending extended office hours and Saturday service.
###
Never miss the latest news from the California DMV. Sign up now to receive customized information on DMV related topics. To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit DMV News Alerts: https://www.emailalert.dmv.ca.gov/DMVEmail_Alert/

DMV site updates Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

We are going through uncertain times. When will businesses reopen and life goes back to normal again?

As a driving instructor and owner of A-Z Driving School located in Downtown San Jose, I get many questions from my students such as: When will the DMVs in the Bay Area reopen? So I did my due diligence and visited their website for accurate and up to date answers. And to date the DMV is still closed so no walk-ins for the Knowledge test and the Drive test. This is the site I advised my students to check for accurate (no rumors) and up to date answers: http://www.dmv.ca.gov. After all we are entrusted to pass on correct information, and not rumors.

I will include a link on this site (A-ZDrivingSchool.com), and start posting articles published by the DMV to provide site visitors helpful information.

Driver Training Guides & Info on Real ID

TRAINING GUIDES

Link to multiple DMV practice online tests that will help you ACE  your DMV knowledge test

Driver Handbook

 

DRIVE TEST TRAINING GUIDES

Link to The CA DMV Driving Test Criteria (Examiners use it to evaluate driving skills)

 

Parent-Teen Training Guide (DL 603)

 

 

California DMV- Fast Facts Preparing for Your Driving Test

DMV Driver Education Videos

REAL ID

Steps to Obtain a REAL ID

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trAxYk7Xduo

 

The Fastest Way To Learn How to Drive Is By Observation

Starting driving is a very exciting time of a teens life. When you start driving its like your dreams are starting to become a reality, you are one step closer to freely go where and when you want without tying someone else in your own plans. It gives you a sense of relief, not feeling guilty of being a burden on someone else.

I would argue that the first step tolerant how to drive is to pay attention to the way your parents drive by observation. Seeing how they take turns, do they decelerate then accelerate, use the brake to slow down then press the gas right away? Or do they coast (letting the car roll by not pressing any peddle) before applying the brake peddle? How can you tell if they are pressing the brake peddle or the gas peddle? How do they turn the steering wheel, and where are they looking. These are some of the things you want to think about as you are sitting in the passenger seat.

I became aware of the importance of observation in accelerating learning how to drive about 6 years ago. When I was training a student on his first lesson. He picked up the driving skills so fast about three times quicker compared to other students starting to learn how to drive. So I probed him and asked if had ever driven a vehicle before his first lesson. He said “No”, but he said that he carefully observed how his parents drove. From that time I became aware of the importance of observation in accelerating the skill level.

My advise to students who are about to start their driving lessons, to help you learn at a faster pace, start watching how your parents drive.