New Licenses, Drivers Ed, On Hold During Pandemic

By Kelly Burch
Granite State News Collaborative

Rather than cruising around in the Mazda truck that he bought himself, Anthony Witfoth, 18, of Winchester finds himself stuck at home or calling to arrange rides. Courtesy photo.

Rather than cruising around in the Mazda truck that he bought himself, Anthony Witfoth, 18, of Winchester finds himself stuck at home or calling to arrange rides. Courtesy photo.

WINCHESTER — Anthony Witfoth, 18, walked into the Keene branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles in mid-March, excited to get his license. But when Witfoth handed over his paperwork to take the written portion of the test and book his road test, he got bad news: the computer system wasn’t working.

“They said they needed to talk to IT and I should call back,” Witfoth says. “Then, they closed.”

Weeks later, Witfoth, a senior at Keene High School, has no license and no idea when he’ll be able to get it. Learning to drive is one of the many rights-of-passage for New Hampshire teens that are being put on hold by the coronavirus and the accompanying shutdown. On March 18 the Department of Motor Vehicles suspended all road tests (other than for commercial driver’s licenses) for the duration of the governor’s stay at home order.

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