Drivers license testing centers to reopen with changes

MIAMI COUNTY — Concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 caused the shutdown of Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles testing centers in mid-March. Now that the centers are about to reopen, the testing process is about to be changed to help protect the health of the examiners and the drivers.

Charlie Norman, Registrar of the Ohio BMV, said testing centers will begin opening June 12, with some in the Miami Valley set to start tests again June 16.

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In a normal year, the BMV does an average of 40,000 tests a month. Norman estimates the backlog from the shutdown of the testing centers is now at 100,000 people seeking a license.

When the testing resumes, drivers will see a big change in how the test will be administered. Norman said the driver taking the test will be in the car behind the wheel with another licensed driver in the passenger seat, while the examiner will be outside the car.

The driver then will have to navigate a closed course while the examiner watches how they handle stops and starts, curves, and other maneuvers. “The examiner will score everything from outside the car from a place where they can see everything,” Norman said.

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The delayed testing has become a big issue for Miami Valley families with teenagers who want to obtain their license to drive themselves to summer jobs and other activities.

Abby Roderer of Beavercreek had hoped to get her license by now, but the shutdown of the license testing stations derailed that plan. “It has definitely been hard. If COVID wasn’t a thing I would have already had my license and I really want it so it’s definitely challenging,” Roderer said.

Her father, Paul Roderer, said he is hoping for Abby to receive her license as soon as possible. “It’s been a pretty big deal. She doesn’t have her license. She can’t get to where she needs to get to where she needs to go. Her mother and I both work and it is difficult for us to get her where she needs to be,” Paul Roderer said.

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Norman said testing centers will not all reopen on the same day, so people interested in taking the test should check the BMV web site and make an appointment. People who had an appointment before the shutdown in March will have first priority.

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