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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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17

DMVs: Please Stop Smiling

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(Newser) – Four states are demanding that motorists stop saying cheese when they get their driver's license photo, and more may follow suit, reports USA Today. It's not the grinch patrol. Smiles can interfere with technology used to make sure people don't apply for illegal licenses, say officials in Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada, and Virginia. Not all states buy it. “People can smile here in Pennsylvania,” said an official there.

The "neutral facial expressions" are necessary because of software used to compare new license photos with ones already taken. If the same photo shows up on different applications, red flags go up. But the software often fails to detect a match if the same person is grinning in one photo and serious in another.

An enhanced Vermont driver's license.
An enhanced Vermont driver's license.   (AP Photo)
A Washington state driver's license.
A Washington state driver's license.   (AP Photo)
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17 comments
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Observer
May 26, 09 5:19 PM CDT
Our country's police state officials have gone too far to demand that people not smile on their Driver's License. 1984 is upon us. We are watched, screened, scanned, imaged, tracked, zero toleranced and mistrusted by our elected officials and civil servants. It is high time to put these overreaching "servants" in their place. Smile freely America. Too bad if the images may not match the Feds facial recognition systems. The secret police do not rule this nation. We do. Reply
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+11
IN RESPONSE:
LapsedPacifist
May 26, 09 6:18 PM CDT
1984 isn't quite here yet, but it's getting close. Soon we will surpass it. Just think how convenient it will be when we all have microchips implanted at birth. You won't even have to carry a driver's license or passport, nor any of those pesky credit cards! No worries about identity theft either, because the proper authorities will always know exactly who you are and exactly where you are. Why worry if you've got nothing to hide?
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+2
BeatBlaster
May 26, 09 5:51 PM CDT
As long as the government can fine me and take away my ability to drive legally they do rule this nation. I either follow the rules or become a criminal and there's nothing nice about jail. Reply
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-6
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
May 26, 09 9:16 PM CDT
You're an easy patsy, BB. If only Gandhi and MLK and even Jesus had been so timid.
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0
Fondue
May 26, 09 5:53 PM CDT
It's my money, I'll fucking smile if I want. Reply
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+12

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