I wouldn’t call it an atmospheric river, because those come and go. DMV mail falls in a never-ending rain, without regard to seasons.
Not that it’s all bad news from readers who, like good soldiers, dutifully report every development from the front lines of the battle to renew their driver’s licenses.
Rosa Maria Juarez, 94, shared a success story. The Montebello resident, who assured me she’s a safe and conscientious driver, passed easily and offered to coach me when I take the test later this year.
Here’s a pro tip from Juarez:
“They told me to go on a computer, but the computers are dirty. People are touching those computers. You can see the smudges, the dark spots. Like they never clean them.”
Juarez asked for a paper test instead, sat down, and minutes later, BOOM! License renewed.
Culver City resident Parrish Hirasaki, 78, started to deliberate after hearing from so many friends who flunked the test. She studied the driving handbook with a highlighter, and then made a study guide — a grid with nine columns of facts about speeds (5 mph on ice), fines ($1,000 for speeding through a work zone) and distances (15 feet or more from a fire hydrant).