Florida turn into one of the first states to allow drivers to present an electronic driver's license stored on cellphones as evidence of identification.
“It appears like a clear transition with the much of our lives currently stored on our phones,” says Ellsworth Buck, Vice President of Insurance, Florida's largest independent auto insurance agency.
An electronic license legislative bill will be introduced this spring. It is likely to be packaged having a proposal to produce a database enabling police to access a driver's car insurance status too.
Many benefits have driver's excited over this proposal. Losing a driver's license wouldn't be so inconvenient and few would argue against needing to go to the Dmv for a replacement.
Also, a statewide data base would enhance the chances of law enforcement to trap uninsured drivers because the details are updated in real-time, unlike a hard copy of an insurance card or driver's license. “This may help lessen the high percentage of uninsured motorists across the state,” says Ellsworth Buck, Vice President of Insurance.
The electronic database however, would not replace traditional driver's licenses, merely be supplemental. Just about all states within the U.S. currently recognizes electronic copies of auto insurance cards so a driver's license seems the following logical progression.
According towards the Sun Sentinel, 14 other state will also be developing, studying and considering an electronic credentials program. They report, it could also be used for traffic stops, voting and getting liquor and any other reason you may want to present your driver's license.
Security
While the advancement in technologies are convenient, is it safe? Privacy advocates have expressed serious concern within the digital license. DMV.org reports, “many have openly worried the trade-off for shiny screens and more convenience is going to be greater susceptibility – to police officers who're a little too curious, hackers looking to abuse the system, or anyone thinking about stealing our identities, whether individually or en masse.”
Logically, a new database of information seems vulnerable to information hungry hackers. Yet, an electronic license could be protected by passwords, PINs along with other security measures in addition to the typical security included in phones. If your plastic license is stolen or lost, additionally you face the same risks of someone taking your information without security protections.
