The driver’s license: Perhaps nothing represents teen freedom more than that document saying you can go wherever you want without having your parents or someone else drive you there. But times have changed from the days when driving autonomy was granted to any 16-year-old who could pass the DMV’s tests. Now, some states are requiring parents to take a form of driver’s education alongside their teens. [More]
driver’s licenses
Here’s How One State Is Using Driver’s License Facial Recognition To Crack Down On Fraud
By 8.23.17
Fake IDs aren’t just a problem for people whose identities have been stolen and used to make a new driver’s license, but they can also lead to unlicensed drivers hitting the roads and potentially endangering others. Officials in New York say they’ve made a serious dent in these kinds of crimes with its driver’s license facial recognition technology. [More]
What Information Is Available When Someone Scans My Driver’s License?
By 4.27.15 — Updated: 5.23.17
There’s a lot of information about you on the back of your state-issued driver’s license or non-driver ID card, but does scanning your license or making a copy of it give potential identity thieves key information about you? It’s not easy to find out what data is encoded in the barcodes on the back of your ID cards, and your state’s motor vehicles department may not want you to know. [More]
Man’s License Suspended Over A Ticket From 1981 After DMV Fixes Its Typo
By 8.18.14
What’s the last thing you remember about that time you didn’t get a notice that your license was suspended? That’s right, you wouldn’t remember it if it never happened to you. One man found himself with a suspended license over a ticket from 1981, something he wasn’t warned about back then because the notification letter had his name misspelled on it. [More]
“Pastafarian” Man Touts The Right To Wear A Colander On His Head In Official Photos
By 7.18.14
You want to wear a colander on your head in your driver’s license photo and call it a form of religious expression as a Pastafarian of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? Go for it, say Austrian authorities. But first, you might have to prove you’re sane enough to be driving in the first place. [More]
Arizona Motor Vehicles Department Accidentally Issues Licenses, ID Cards With Wrong Photos
By 6.25.14
It’s all fine and good to have driver’s permit/some kind of legal identification, but the thing is, it doesn’t really work if the photo on that document isn’t you. Arizona’s Motor Vehicles Department said it’s gotten reports of drivers receiving identification cards and permits with photos of strangers on them, prompting concern that maybe their information is being shared with others as well. [More]
New Jersey Suggests People Change Their Names To Fit With Antiquated Driver’s License System
By 12.30.13
The people of New Jersey represent just about every racial and ethnic group you could imagine, so not everyone is going to fit into the standard mold of first name/middle initial/last name. And even though state authorities are well aware of this fact, they would rather have drivers legally change their names than update the state’s outdated license database. [More]
Ohio Forgot To Tell Residents That Cops Have Been Using Facial Recognition On License Photos
By 8.27.13
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is facing some criticism after a news investigation revealed that his office had launched a facial recognition system, which allows police to scan pictures of suspects and match them to drivers license photos in the law enforcement’s database. Despite the fact that the system hadn’t been updated to provide protection against misuse, DeWine says he will make sure it isn’t used improperly. [More]
Apple Removes App That Let Users Make Fake Driver's Licenses
By 12.12.11
Well, that was quick. On Friday, we wrote about the iOS app that allowed users to craft fake driver’s licenses — for the sole purpose of entertaining and amusing their friends, of course — and how one U.S. Senator had appealed to Apple CEO Tim Cook to have it removed from Apple’s online store. Looks like that may have been sufficient, as the app has is no longer on sale. [More]
Analysis: Laws Restricting Teen Drivers Doing Little Good
By 9.14.11
According to a nationwide analysis of car crash data, heavier restrictions on the driving privileges of 16 and 17-year-old drivers haven’t necessarily made the roads safer. Although deadly accidents involving the youngest drivers have fallen, the number of crash fatalities in 18 and 19-year-old drivers has doubled. The implication is that younger drivers, who are forbidden from driving at night or with passengers some states, are simply older when they’re still dangerously inexperienced. [More]
Retail Return Databases: Fraud Deterrent Or Privacy Nightmare?
By 9.3.09
No shopper wants higher prices because of excessive return fraud, but many people aren’t comfortable having their driver’s license scanned when making a return at the store, either. We’ve covered the reasons for this before, but Retail Customer Experience took a closer look.
Why Does Target Need ALL Of Your Driver's License Data To Sell You Wine?
By 7.15.08
Thruhike98 tried to buy some wine at Target a couple of weekends ago, and they were surprised at how invasive the ID check turned out to be:
