The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is seeking approval to issue digital driver’s licenses that can be displayed on mobile devices.
The proposal, in the form of House Bill 199, is part of a broader effort to modernize the state’s transportation laws. If approved, licensed drivers in North Carolina may soon be able to forego their physical, laminated licenses in favor of digital versions.
DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin highlighted the enhanced security features of digital licenses compared to traditional laminated cards. Digital licenses can be updated more easily and allow users to control the amount of personal information they share.
“You can determine: I only want to verify my date of birth, verify my address, or verify my full name or verify that I’m over age 21,” Goodwin said. “You decide what you want to share.”
The push for digital licenses is partly driven by the need to reduce wait times and backlogs at DMV offices, especially as the state’s population continues to grow.
A technical problem recently exacerbated this issue. In a meeting with the North Carolina House of Representative, Goodwin attributed the problem to a software glitch on the part of IDEMIA.
“What had been several days of stoppage had surprisingly turned into a 12-day backlog,” said Goodwin. “A stoppage of a few days turned into a backlog that inexplicably grew week by week.”
In response, Lisa Shoemaker, vice president for IDEMIA’s global corporate relations, contended that the DMV rejected IDEMIA’s proposed solution to address the issue, which she claimed would have been more efficient, and asserted that the DMV did not value the company’s expertise and input during the situation.
The glitch in question allowed 2,150 people to renew their licenses online when access should have been restricted, necessitating a halt in production and manual collection of the cards, leading to a 12-day backlog.
House Bill 199, meanwhile, received approval from the state Senate’s Transportation Committee last week.
Source: WRAL News, StateScoop
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June 11, 2024 — by Ali Nassar-Smith
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