Move Over, Out-of-State DMVs: Casper WYDOT Is Winning [OPINION]

There is one thing that all Americans seem to agree on, and it's that visiting the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), is a tedious, although necessary task.

Here in Wyoming, we don't have the DMV. We have the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), but they operate the same way, at least as far as licensing goes.

Since I was very recently the victim of a vehicle burglary (which I will admit was due to my own negligence), I was in need of a new driver's license... sort of.

My license was recovered by Wyoming State law enforcement, but outside of Casper, which means I'm going to have to wait, at the very least, two to three business days for it to get here. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have been a big deal, but the timing couldn't have been worse, as I'm currently in the midst of purchasing a new-to-me vehicle. In case you were wondering, it's very difficult (see also: darn near impossible), to buy a car from a dealership with no driver's license.

After a short wait, I explained the issue to the WYDOT employee, who was able to give me a paper copy of my license.

Now, this could have been a very bad experience, but the lady behind the counter was very helpful and informative, even letting me know my options should my license get lost in the mail.

It is worth noting, this is not first time I've had exemplary customer service at the Casper WYDOT office.

Roughly a year before the COVID-19 lockdown, there was an issue with my driving privileges (courtesy of the Michigan State DMV), were long story short, I had to retake my driver's test here in order to retain my license.

No problem. I aced the written exam and moved on to the driving portion. After almost successfully completing the driving test, my vehicle at the time "conked out" on me in the middle of the street, near the East 2nd Street and South Kimball Street intersection.

To say that I was embarrassed would be a severe understatement. The lady that was administering the test just laughed (a little too hard, in my opinion), but told me I had already passed the test and were heading back to the office anyway. In the midst of her laughter (and tears), she admitted that this particular situation had never happened to her before.

Although extremely shamed, a crisis was averted and after phoning a friend for a ride, I got my license.

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I have visited numerous DMVs, across the entire country (courtesy of being stationed all over during my military service), and I can honestly say that I have never had an overly favorable review of one, and that's California to North Carolina to Washington DC. Their wait times are deplorable (in DC, you actually had to take a day off, because it was normally an all day affair), and it is immediately obvious that they'd rather not be there as much as you.

That being said, it is almost the complete opposite in Wyoming. The wait times can be a little daunting, depending on the time of year, but nothing like the big cities. The employees are also more jovial and 100% more helpful.

I said all of that to say this: no DMV in America can hold a candle to the WYDOT offices. I said what I said and I stand on that.