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Thursday, July 03, 2008
Public Support Drives New License Success
By Ken Ortiz
New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division Director
The new driver's license is here, and the Motor Vehicle Division would like to extend a big thanks to the public and the many businesses and organizations across the state that have helped make the new driver's license procedure such a big success.
Here's why. The new driver's license and identification card has been created to stop identity theft to stop people from assuming your identity through your driver's license or ID card. But in order to verify your identity, the license cannot be issued on the spot but must go to a central facility off-site for biometric facial recognition. Or, in short we have to make sure that you are really you, or that there's no one out there who is using your identity to obtain a fake driver's license or identification card. That means when you leave MVD after applying for a new license, you walk away not with the actual license but with a temporary extension.
This temporary license extension, known across the state as The Temp, is necessary while your identity is verified. We may have been the 28th state in the U.S. to go to a temporary license of some kind, but we realize that we are now asking businesses and organizations across the state to accept a paper license extension when it is presented with the old license. So far we have issued over 80,000 of the new licenses with the temporary extensions and will now be issuing over 50,000 per month.
The support we have received from across the state has been remarkable as banks, schools, military bases, airports, retail outlets, municipalities, child-care centers, in short, everywhere you need an ID, have all moved rapidly to accept the new license and adapt to our new approach. We believe that the public wants to protect itself from identity theft, and the public supports our new approach as necessary to stop identity thieves. Over 25,000 businesses and organizations, such as the Chambers of Commerce, have worked to educate their members and employees about the new DL procedures. That's the power of the public and MVD working together for a common goal.
The support has been grassroots. An e-mail campaign raced statewide to get the word out to bank tellers, security guards, school administrators, retail store owners everyone who requires an ID. The media did their part as well. TV, radio and newspapers reported our issue to the public, thereby playing a vital public-service role.
The new license is worth it. The 12 new security features include biometric facial technology, which compares your new photo with your old photo and all other drivers in our database to make sure no one can steal your identity. First, I'd like to thank the businesses and organizations around the state for accepting the Temp and doing their part. Second, I'd like to thank the people of New Mexico for accepting this new driver's license process.
I know that MVD receives criticism sometimes, over wait times and other procedures. We're working on all that, and always trying to be better. But this is different. This is a time when our state agency has worked with the public to create a campaign to create better security. And it's working. The public and the state have joined forces. We created a new, more secure system. We needed public buy-in and support. Well, we got it.
Thank you, New Mexico.
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