Dear PoPville – Am I crazy in thinking that this is ridiculous?

“Dear PoPville,

I recently bought a house and waited a few weeks to update my license address so that I could get the REAL ID. I went to the DMV and actually had a rather pleasant experience (no wait!). However, when I received my new license, I was a little disappointed. The expiration was 2 years and one month away. I noticed that this was the same expiration as my old license, so I emailed the DMV to let them know that someone forgot to update the expiration date before printing my new ID. The DMV responded that the expiration was not updated because this was a “duplicate transaction.”

This makes no sense to me. I can understand that the expiration would not be extended if someone lost an ID and needed a replacement that was actually identical to the old ID. However, in this situation, I had to go to the DMV, prove who I am, prove where I live, and I had a new picture taken. So not only is the information/picture on the ID not the same as my old ID, but the ID itself is completely different.

Now, I will admit that I only paid $20 (instead of the $44 renewal fee), but if I had been given the option, I would have gladly paid $44 now to avoid having to renew in two years. Am I crazy in thinking that this is ridiculous? It seems to me that the DMV should be charging the renewal fee to anyone who gets the REAL ID (or at least giving people the option to pay more) and giving them the standard 8 year expiration date. I am just curious what PoPville thinks…”