Visiting the DMV ranks down there with trips to the dentist on our favorite things to do list. Though Governor Schwarzenegger most likely never waited in any DMV line, he’s been instrumental in getting average wait times cut in half. The latest statistics show the largest 91 offices have slashed average wait-times from almost an hour to fewer than 30 minutes, California DMV officials said in a statement this week. "We're very pleased we've been so successful so quickly," said DMV Director Chon Gutierrez. "Governor Schwarzenegger made it top priority to improve service at the DMV and get wait-times down, and he gave us the tools to make it happen.” Some examples: the Santa Monica office went from a wait-time of 98 minutes in January to just under 20 at the end of July. San Francisco went from almost 52 minutes to under 23, South Sacramento went from 51 minutes to 15 minutes, and San Diego cut its average wait time by two thirds -- from 67 minutes to just over 22. The biggest reason for the drop, according to the DMV, was the filling of 400 positions that had been lost due to the state hiring freeze. Hiring and training started in March, and the first technicians reported for work at the most impacted offices in March. The Calif. DMV is also testing touch-screen kiosks that can dispense vehicle registration license plate tags and registration cards. These kiosks allow customers to enter information from their registration renewal notices, pay their fees using cash, checks and credit cards, and within seconds complete their transactions. DMV is testing the first machine in a Sacramento office and plans to test one in the Los Angeles office in the next few weeks.