CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles is delaying a new electronic temporary license program in response to dealers’ criticisms.

The program initially was scheduled to begin Aug. 31. Motor Vehicles Commissioner Joe Miller said Wednesday it has been postponed until March 31.

“We’re not trying to force this down anybody’s throat,” Miller said. “We are attempting to work with the dealers and consider their needs, which is what we’re doing with the extension. They felt the schedule was too aggressive, that we were moving too fast.”

Dealers now mail or hand deliver vehicle registration information to the DMV. The new program would require dealers to enter that information into a DMV database. Temporary tags would be printed at the dealership.

Dealers say the new system could force them to hire more workers and inconvenience customers. They also say some small dealers could be forced out of business.

“This is serious,” said Larry Dawson, who owns Larry Dawson’s Auto Sales in Nitro. “The old system is working fine. But now they’re saying, ’You’re mandated. You have to do this.”’

Dawson said dealerships that sell fewer than 30 vehicles a month should be exempt.

“The new system is going to force the smaller dealers to go out of business,” he said. “They might not have a computer-savvy person on staff. It’s like you’re asking an electrician to do a plumbers’ job, but they’re not a plumber.”

Miller said DMV plans to offer dealers a second option that would require only a fax machine and a printer. Dealers could print temporary tags at their dealerships and file the paperwork the traditional way.

“They could do everything else manually,” he said. “We’re adjusting the program. My goal is that all dealers will say this is a great system.”

Miller said the system would save DMV the cost of printing temporary cardboard tags and allow law enforcement agencies to trace a temporary tag number to determine who owns the vehicle.

Ruth Lemmon, executive director of the West Virginia Auto and Truck Dealers Association, said her group supports the electronic transfer records, “but this has to be done right, and this program is not right.”

Dealers plan to meet with DMV officials on Aug. 4.
 

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