BMV Computer Woes Frustrate Customers

BEECH GROVE, Ind. -- The Bureau of Motor Vehicles ran into several glitches after a new computer system that was installed over the Fourth of July weekend was first used Wednesday.

Angry customers and long lines were evident at the BMV branch in Beech Grove on Thursday morning.

Customers complained about long wait times and were often told that they couldn't complete their transactions, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

BMV officials dismissed the computer glitches as ordinary problems often encountered with a new system, but that didn't play well with weary customers, some of whom were at the branch for a second-straight day.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, the BMV shut down branches and all other customer access, such as online transactions, to finish a multimillion-dollar computer upgrade that was in the works for eight years. When branches reopened, the glitches became apparent almost immediately.

"I'm trying to get my CDL right now and the computers keep fouling up," said one customer, whom 6News did not identify. "I waited up here nearly four hours yesterday, and today I've been here almost three."

BMV officials said the system crashed for about five minutes on Wednesday, but customers said branch employees told them it was down for more than an hour at a time.

The problems affected numerous services, including those involving vehicle registration and driver's licenses.

BMV officials said four days of testing before the system's debut didn't reveal the problems that have been encountered.

"It was 200 million records that we converted -- one of the biggest, if not the biggest, system upgrades in Indiana history," BMV spokesman Greg Cook said. "So, we certainly expected there would be a few bumps in the road along the way and we experienced those when we went to a live situation yesterday."

Online service, which was supposed to have been reactivated Wednesday, probably won't be available until this weekend, the BMV said. Also, self-service terminals probably won't be reactivated on Friday as previously scheduled, Cox reported.