The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles won’t be able to accept applications for driver’s licenses tomorrow. DMV offices will not be able to check license applicants’ Social Security numbers because the federal Social Security system’s computers will be down for maintenance this weekend, the state agency said. To reduce identity fraud, state law requires that the DMV verify applicants’ Social Security numbers with the federal agency.

Even if everyone had done the right thing, Loucendia Reed Lambert still might have been hit and killed by a GRTC bus. But people failed to act properly in several instances, which makes Lambert’s death all the more painful. Bus driver Teresa L. Jones did not follow GRTC policy by reporting to her employer that she had been charged with reckless driving and a seat-belt violation while driving in a private car in May.

It’s a safe bet to say at least one person didn’t pass the road portion of their driver’s license examination yesterday at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles main office in Richmond. Richmond police were called to the DMV’s rear parking lot about noon for a report of a three-vehicle wreck. Police said someone apparently drove into two parked vehicles in the 2300 block of West Broad Street while taking their driving test.

It’s a safe bet to say at least one person didn’t pass the road portion of their driver’s license examination yesterday at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles main office in Richmond. Richmond police were called to the DMV’s rear parking lot about noon for a report of a three-vehicle wreck. Police said someone apparently drove into two parked vehicles in the 2300 block of West Broad Street while taking their driving test.

MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS Local Columnist Chesterfield, you have a problem. It’s not, as some readers suggest, clueless Yankee drivers, “locals who drive as if they’re in a coma” or “fat people yakking on their cell phones.“ It’s drunken drivers, speed demons and folks who refuse to buckle their seat belts, all with deadly results.

Five Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles offices in the region will be closed on certain days during the next two weeks to prepare for the state’s new process for issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards.

• The Richmond Central service center, 2300 W. Broad St., will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Customers can use the East Henrico or North Henrico offices during the closure.

Virginia licenses. inRich.com, keyword: featured New driver’s licenses to feature secure black-and-white photos
Whether your Virginia’s driver’s license is valid is becoming a black-and-white issue.

The cost of getting a vanity license plate in Virginia could double under a bill cleared yesterday by the Senate Transportation Committee. Senate Bill 1167, sponsored by Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, would give the Department of Motor Vehicles the authority to charge motorists up to $20 a year to maintain or purchase personalized license plates. The current fee for such plates is $10.

A deal between longtime Richmond-area automobile dealers Haynes Motor Co. and Pearson Automotive Inc. has cleared its final hurdle and could be completed as soon as this week. Haynes is selling its Chrysler Jeep franchise to Pearson. When finalized, Haynes will close its dealership at 9520 W. Broad St. The Chrysler Jeep franchise will be transferred to Pearson’s property at 8250 W. Broad St. It is not known how much inventory or how many employees will make the move.