By Bob Bouyea

When was the last time you went down to the local Department of Motor Vehicles? If it has been prior to Sept. 11, 2001, things have changed, and I’m not talking about the security getting into the building. I’m talking about what it takes to get a South Carolina driver’s license. 

Go down to any office and take a look. What you’ll see is several different shades of red—mainly in the faces of angry and frustrated people who are attempting to meet the requirements set by the state. South Carolina doesn’t make it easy to get a driver’s license.

The wife, to date, has made two trips to the DMV. That’s nothing compared to what others have gone through. She is planning her third and, I hope, final trip soon.

Her first trip really doesn’t count. She basically got in the door and the woman at the front desk handed her a list of required documents and promptly told her to expect a two- to three-hour wait upon her return. As she was leaving, another woman told her that was a conservative time estimate and that she had waited four hours to get a learner’s permit for her son.

A Summerville police officer offered this advice: Drive to St. George. There’s no waiting. It takes about an hour to get there and back but since there wouldn’t be a wait, there’s a time-savings of more than two hours. Well worth it, she thought.

So she makes the drive with her packet of documents in hand. She walks into the office and after a few minutes is turned away because the certified birth certificate that she has used for more than 18 years does not have the State of Illinois seal. 

Frustrated and on the verge of tears because our insurance company gave us until the end of February to get South Carolina licenses or our policies would be cancelled, she left the office and drove to the agency to get an extension.

After she told them her story, she heard probably the most mind-boggling story of all. A woman at the agency told her that after waiting in line for hours to get her child a learner’s permit she was told she needed to present a bill in her 15-year-old’s name. Her response was, “You’ve got to be kidding.” Her solution, not offered by the DMV, was to present them the school child’s report card.

The reason for this scrutiny is the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, we’ve been told. Here are some of the items needed to secure a driver’s license: a birth certificate (original or certified), social security card, a utility bill with your name and address on it (if you don’t have that they will take closing papers on the home), car title and insurance. I’m sure I’m missing something, but you get the point. You can no longer just show up and request one.

How many trips did I make? One. That is only because the wife made the first trip and put together a nice packet of the information I needed. 

How about you?

New home construction

The wife and I bought our first brand new home when we moved here. It cost in the average range, which was just south of a quarter-of-a-million-dollars. I like saying it that way as opposed to $250,000, because it puts the price into some context.

Say it with me: A quarter of a million dollars.

For a quarter of a million dollars, you would think that all the little things would have been taken care of. (OK, you guys who have purchased new, quit laughing.) I’m naive enough to expect a higher level of craftsmanship in exchange for a quarter of a million dollars.

Well, needless to say, I was wrong. Here’s one example. Recently, I went to install new light fixtures in our three bathrooms, replacing the $29 light fixtures that came with the home. When I pulled off the lights, I was shocked (no pun intended) to find live wires poking through a quarter-size hole in the drywall. The wires were not brought through metal junction boxes typically found behind light fixtures. Apparently it’s not code to include the box. 

We’re talking about a $1.59 item. Three of them would cost a whopping $4.77, and that’s retail. I would imagine that a large builder of homes could get them for even less.

If I want to add the boxes myself, I will have to cut the drywall, install support braces to hold the boxes in place and then patch and paint the wall, all because a quarter-of-a-million-dollar house does not include $4.77 worth of transfer boxes.

Oh, well, what else was I going to do with my weekends?

Bob Bouyea is executive editor of the Business Journal. E-mail him at bbouyea@crbj.com.

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