The Lakewood DMV office on Airport Road was packed with so many customers this morning who waited for hours – some throughout the night- that officials announced before opening time that they are unable to accept new customers for the rest of the day. 

This marks the second day in a row in which the DMV was forced to turn away people due to an overflow crowd.

New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission had several months to prepare for reopening, but, in typical DMV fashion, the reopening was delayed and suffered malfunctions, leading to the hundreds of exasperated individuals seen outside their office today.

Republican Senator Anthony Bucco said he wrote to MVC chief administrator Sue Fulton on May 7th, warning that the system could be overwhelmed upon reopening.

“I suggest that you consider alternate ways to complete some of these services remotely in the interim,” Bucco wrote. “Perhaps you can consider what other states are doing in this area. Procedures such as on-line title transfers and issuing temporary licenses to new drivers under a protocol you develop to help lessen the anticipated overwhelming need when the agencies reopen.”

The anticipated horror story unfolded in real life today and yesterday, as endless lines forced police departments across the state, including in Lakewood, to deploy personnel to DMVs to control the crowds and keep the peace.

“Clearly, they have no plan,” Bucco said. “Look at the situation. The lines are horrendous. They had to know this was coming. I warned them and everybody knew it. This is a failure of leadership from the top down, and New Jersey residents deserve better.”