For many motorists like Ddiane Marie Collins, it was just another day at the DMV, only easier.

"I have never seen it this light. I had planned with a book and camping out for however long it took," says Diane Marie Collins.

That was a big surprise, considering that last year on the Monday following the DMV's annual Thanksgiving shutdown, wait times exceeded an hour and a half. Compare that to this year.

"About three minutes, I would say, maybe five," says Joe Nannini.

Reno Branch Manager Christina Schlosser says even though the same number of employees faced similar transaction totals in 2010, lines were much shorter this year. One driving factor was coverage from KOLO and other news outlets relaying the DMV's message to stay away today.

"According to the employees that i spoke to, it was the media reports that scared everybody off," says Diane Marie Collins.

So why didn't some people heed the warnings?

"It's my birthday and i had to renew my license so i had to do it today," says Donna Harris.

"I had been putting it off so i figured today was the day," says Joe Nannini.

Even the peak busy periods didn't push too many buttons. The 110 people that were in line when the DMV opened its doors at 8 am still only had to wait about 22 minutes.