THOMASVILLE, N.C. —
Starting Monday, the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is expanding service hours at 42 locations across the state and will now open at 7 a.m.
Six of these locations are here in the Piedmont Triad.
North Carolinians lined up about an hour before the DMV location opened in Thomasville.
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Some residents said they have not been able to get an appointment for months. One woman even said that she drove an hour to the Thomasville location because all of the closer locations were booked up.
The North Carolina DMV said opening the doors an hour earlier at these locations gives workers an extra hour to help cut down on long lines and wait times.
Officials have blamed these lines on staffing shortages and increased demand from people needing to get their Real IDs before the May 7 deadline.
Debra Passmore and her friend Vicki Kennedy pulled in to the parking lot at 6:05 a.m. Monday.
Kennedy said she is dedicated to getting this done because of her son.
"My son's in the military, so I got to be ready to go when he calls me and says he needs me," she said.
David Powers said this is his second time coming back and he is relieved to finally get his Real ID because last week it was too busy.
"It was Thursday and the line was wrapped around the building and down the parking lot, and I was like, ‘Uhh-uhh,'" he said.
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Other customers, like Emma Wallace, have been luckier.
"I was able to get an appointment really quickly online. I booked it on Friday for 7 a.m. ... I tried to get my husband an appointment, but we couldn’t get him in until June," she said.
But many tell me it's worth the early wake-up because getting this done early means more than just a checked-off chore list.
Wayne Littleton, 77, shared that he has been trying to renew his license for over a month. As a caretaker for his wife, he said the expanded hours give him greater flexibility to get things done.
"I couldn’t leave her to stand in line until 1 o’clock or whatever it is. So it all worked out. 7:15 was the appointment time. I’m from High Rock Lake, so I ran over here and I took it," he said.
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