LAS VEGAS, NV (KXNT) - Monday was a rough day at Nevada DMV locations for both workers and customers.
Customers showing up found out after locations opened that only appointments were being seen.
Then later in the morning, construction crews inadvertently severed a fiber optic cable- knocking out the agencies’ computer system.
The outage occurred when a backhoe accidentally cut fiber optic cables at a construction site in Las Vegas. The data services vendor and State of Nevada engineers were able to reroute internet traffic through other cables and many services were restored just before 3 p.m. It was estimated a complete fix will take up to 24 hours.
The outage came as the DMV implemented a policy of serving only customers with appointments at its metropolitan offices.
The DMV announced last week it will serve only customers with appointments at the offices in Carson City, Henderson, Las Vegas and Reno as of June 22.
Walk-in customers will now be directed to online services, kiosks or scheduled for an appointment as appropriate.
“Appointments are the best way to ensure we are able to keep our customers and staff safe during this new era of social distancing,” said DMV Director Julie Butler. “But the basic instructions we have in place for our reopening haven’t changed. Visit our website first, use online services or kiosks if possible, and if you do have to come in, make sure you are prepared for a successful visit.”
The public can make appointments now on the DMV website, dmvnv.com.
The DMV will continue to offer only limited services until mid-July. Those who can drive legally should hold off on visiting the DMV as the agency takes care of those with urgent needs first. Details are available on the website.