Summary
Facing a long 135-mile trip for a driver’s test appointment while a closer DMV location was fully booked, I created a Python WebDriver bot to automate the rescheduling process. The bot monitors availability at the desired location, checks for the earliest possible time slot within a given date range, and books the appointment when a slot opens. This side project saved me time and effort, securing my appointment overnight.
Problem Statement
Data
Approach
Strategy
Results
Tools & Technologies
Code
Problem Statement
The DMV appointment system often makes it difficult to secure desired slots due to high demand and infrequent updates to available time slots. I was left with an appointment 135 miles away from home, despite a DMV just 4 miles away. Manually checking for cancellations or new slots was tedious and unreliable, given that openings would disappear almost immediately. I needed an efficient, automated solution to monitor and secure my ideal time and location.
Data
- Link to the appointment scheduled
- Zip Code of desired exam location
- Exam station name found in the database
- Date range of desired appointment
- Radius in miles of search for other locations.
Approach
- To address the challenge, I first attempted to reschedule the appointment manually. This process involved logging into the DMV system, navigating the scheduling page, checking for available time slots at my preferred location, and quickly attempting to secure any newly available appointments. Through this manual trial and error, I gained a detailed understanding of the flow, including key steps, system delays, and potential pain points.
- With this knowledge, I developed a Python bot using Selenium WebDriver to replicate the rescheduling process programmatically. The bot was designed to:
- Log into the DMV appointment system using my credentials.
- Navigate to the rescheduling page.
- Search for available time slots at my desired location.
- Continuously monitor for cancellations or new slots within a specified date range.
- Automatically book the earliest available slot when one appeared.
- The bot mimicked the exact manual process, but with greater speed and accuracy, running overnight and handling the repetitive task of refreshing and checking for updates.
Strategy
There’s not quite a strategy that comes out of this other than trying to monetize this bot by soliciting for failed drivers on driving test day.
Total customers = 0.
Results
- The bot successfully secured a driver’s test appointment at my preferred location (4 miles away) and on my desired date, saving me a 135-mile drive.
- Reduced manual effort and stress by automating the rescheduling process.
- Proved the power of automation for real-world, everyday problems.
- Automation can solve everyday challenges efficiently, especially for tedious, repetitive tasks.
- Selenium WebDriver is a powerful tool for navigating and interacting with web systems.
- Real-world challenges often require thinking outside the box and leveraging technology creatively.
Tools & Technologies
Code
import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import simpledialog, messagebox
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
from selenium.common.exceptions import TimeoutException
import time
from datetime import datetime
import logging
import sys
import threading
# Setup logging to file and console
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO,
format=’%(asctime)s – %(levelname)s – %(message)s’,
handlers=[
logging.FileHandler(“app.log”),
logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)
])
stop_requested = False
def stop_script():
global stop_requested
stop_requested = True
messagebox.showinfo(“Stopping”, “The script will stop after the current operation.”)
def create_control_window():
control_window = tk.Tk()
control_window.title(“Control Panel”)
stop_button = tk.Button(control_window, text=”Stop Script”, command=stop_script)
stop_button.pack(pady=20)
control_window.geometry(“300×100”)
control_window.mainloop()
def get_user_input():
root = None
try:
# Initialize Tkinter root window
root = tk.Tk()
root.withdraw() # Hide the root window
# Prompt user for inputs
url = simpledialog.askstring(“Input”, “Enter the URL:”, parent=root)
zip_code = simpledialog.askstring(“Input”, “Enter the Zip Code:”, parent=root)
station_name = simpledialog.askstring(“Input”, “Enter the Testing Station Name (or ‘Any’ for any station):”, parent=root)
min_date = simpledialog.askstring(“Input”, “Enter the Minimum Date (YYYY-MM-DD):”, parent=root)
max_date = simpledialog.askstring(“Input”, “Enter the Maximum Date (YYYY-MM-DD):”, parent=root)
distance = simpledialog.askinteger(“Input”, “Enter the Search Radius (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 miles):”, parent=root)
return url, zip_code, station_name, min_date, max_date, distance
except Exception as e:
logging.error(f”An error occurred while getting user input: {e}”)
messagebox.showerror(“Error”, “Failed to get user input. Exiting.”)
sys.exit(1)
finally:
# Ensure the Tk root window is destroyed
if root:
root.destroy()
def safe_wait(driver, condition, timeout=20):
global stop_requested
elapsed = 0
interval = 0.5 # Check every 0.5 seconds
while elapsed < timeout:
if stop_requested:
raise Exception(“Script stopped by user.”)
try:
return WebDriverWait(driver, interval).until(condition)
except TimeoutException:
elapsed += interval
raise TimeoutException
def main():
global stop_requested
# Start control window in a separate thread
control_thread = threading.Thread(target=create_control_window)
control_thread.daemon = True # Ensures the thread closes when the main program exits
control_thread.start()
# Get user input
url, zip_code, station_name, min_date, max_date, distance = get_user_input()
# Convert dates
try:
min_date = datetime.strptime(min_date, “%Y-%m-%d”)
max_date = datetime.strptime(max_date, “%Y-%m-%d”)
except ValueError as e:
logging.error(f”Invalid date format: {e}”)
messagebox.showerror(“Error”, “Invalid date format. Please use YYYY-MM-DD.”)
sys.exit(1)
driver = None
try:
logging.info(“Launching Edge WebDriver…”)
driver = webdriver.Edge()
logging.info(“Navigating to the URL…”)
driver.get(url)
logging.info(“Waiting for the Reschedule button…”)
try:
reschedule_button = safe_wait(driver, EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, ‘/html/body/div[1]/div[2]/div[1]/div/div/div/div/main/div[2]/div/form/div[1]/div/div/div/div/div[2]/div/div/div/div[4]/div/div[1]/table/tbody/tr[2]/td[2]/div/div/div’)))
logging.info(“Clicking the Reschedule button…”)
reschedule_button.click()
except TimeoutException:
logging.error(“Reschedule button not found within the timeout period.”)
return
time.sleep(2) # Wait for the next page to load
logging.info(“Entering the Zip Code…”)
zip_input = safe_wait(driver, EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, ‘/html/body/div[1]/div[2]/div[1]/div/div/div/div/main/div[2]/div[2]/form/div[1]/div/div[2]/div/div/div/div/div/div[1]/div/div[1]/div/div[1]/div/div[1]/table/tbody/tr[3]/td[1]/div[2]/div/div/input’)))
zip_input.send_keys(zip_code)
logging.info(“Clicking on the search button…”)
search_button = safe_wait(driver, EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, ‘/html/body/div[1]/div[2]/div[1]/div/div/div/div/main/div[2]/div[2]/form/div[1]/div/div[2]/div/div/div/div/div/div[1]/div/div[1]/div/div[1]/div/div[1]/table/tbody/tr[3]/td[2]/div/div/div/button’)))
search_button.click()
# Continue with your script logic as needed…
except Exception as e:
logging.error(f”An error occurred: {e}”)
messagebox.showerror(“Error”, f”An unexpected error occurred: {e}”)
finally:
if driver:
logging.info(“Closing the browser.”)
driver.quit()
if __name__ == “__main__”:
main()