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Law lengthens lines for license
Driver WEB 1
For Melodie Parola and her daughter, Jessica, the wait was about six hours at the Department of Driver Services. - photo by Jim Dean
The suggestion box at the Department of Driver Services in Cumming was getting some use last week.“The longer we sit here, the longer the suggestion list gets,” said Debbie Merck, who waited more than five hours Tuesday to replace a lost license. It was nearly six hours for Melodie Parola and daughter Jessica. And even longer for her husband, Joe, who was still waiting to renew his license when they left the facility off Pilgrim Mill Road near Ga. 400 at Exit 16.“It’s very frustrating,” said Melodie Parola.Drivers have come to expect to wait at the services center, but Tuesday was exceptionally long, since it was the first day of a new state law requiring a birth certificate and Social Security card for all those seeking a license, even a renewal.It was one of many new state laws, but perhaps the most noticeable, that went into effect July 1.That timing was particularly challenging for the department.