Wisconsin DMV wins two national awards
The Wisconsin DOT Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has received two national awards, for its new online service that cuts down paperwork, and provides real-time updates for courts and municipalities. The DMV’s Traffic Violation and Registration Program (TVRP), received Best Government Interactive and Best Transportation Interactive application in the 2020 Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards.
“WisDOT staff are continually looking for ways that technology can help us better serve the public,” said Craig Thompson, secretary of transportation designee. “The IAC awards recognize the department’s innovative approach to customer service.”
The TVRP program helps hundreds of municipalities and local courts across the state, process unpaid parking tickets and other forfeitures. In the past, the DMV would suspend the registration of the vehicles involved and notify the owners. They would then resolve the situation with the court or municipality, who would notify DMV to lift the suspension.
Many of these 90,000 transactions each year were processed on paper. This left customers with a suspended vehicle registration for days or weeks. The new online application, developed by Wisconsin Interactive Network (WIN), allows municipalities and courts to process the fees in real-time.
This greatly improves the speed that a suspension can be added or removed. Nearly 80 percent of transactions are now completed online. This simplifies the paperwork process, improves response time and streamlines the process.
The TVRP program was created in 1981, to give municipal courts an effective way to collect fines and forfeitures from otherwise unpaid parking citations. The law was amended in 1982, to allow any local authority such as a municipality, law enforcement agency or parking enforcement agency, to participate with or without court intervention.