DMV road test backlog frustrates teens

It's a major milestone for teens - getting their driver's license.

But getting in to the DMV for a road test has become a major waiting game for many.

Sara Gunderson just got her license.

But getting in for her road test wasn't easy.

"It was frustrating, it was very frustrating," said Gunderson.

The Appleton teen said she tried to schedule an appointment online for months.

"It probably took about two months, I'd say. It was just a lot of checking back everyday," said Gunderson.

She was even willing to and did end up taking her test in another city. But it was still difficult to find an opening.

"Going back and seeing like Appleton, Oshkosh, Green Bay had no openings and you'd be like Ahhh and then like OK I'm going to have to try tomorrow," Gunderson said.

"It was frustrating, many days she was angry, sad, you know when am I going to get in, I'm never going to get in," said Gunderson's mom Shelley Mayer.

Mayer said when she did get an appointment in Green Bay, Sara was scared to take the exam in unfamiliar territory.

"We drove around, trying to figure out where they will take her, what the neighborhood is, you know because we don't come up here that often," said Mayer.

"The demand is certainly there," said DMV Regional Manager Don Genin. "We have been getting phone calls, I don't know if so much complaints, but frustration."

Genin said it's normal to wait during the summer because it's the agency's busiest time of year. However a loss of staff has exacerbated the situation.

"We're down to about 35-50% staff, a great deal of it here in the Fox Valley, Appleton and Green Bay - my two largest stations," Genin said.

Genin said the staff shortage is because of recent retirements.

"We had an aging workforce and everybody seemed to pull the plug at the same time," Genin said.

And while the DMV is in the process of hiring more workers, Genin explained getting people on board and trained takes time.

In the meanwhile - to cope with the backlog - Genin said the DMV has offered up more overtime.

"So we made available, quite a few tests just in the past couple of months and we're hoping that it will help us get through the summer months," Genin said.

Genin added the key to getting in is to keep clicking on the DMV's website .

"We keep telling them to check back and not be afraid to check and keep checking and I know it's frustrating but we'll get there as soon as we get staff on board," Genin said.

Genin said hopefully things will slow down a little bit in the fall and the DMV can get caught up on road tests.