I’m So Old
I remember when a driver’s license was proof you could drive, and nothing else.
The Associated Press has the story: Homeland Security, New York agree on new driver’s licenses
Under the compromise, New York will produce an “enhanced driver’s license” that will be as secure as a passport. It is intended for people who soon will need to meet such ID requirements, even for a short drive to Canada.
A second version of the license will meet new federal standards of the Real ID Act. That law is designed to make it much harder for illegal immigrants or would-be terrorists to obtain licenses.
A third type of license will be available to undocumented immigrants.
Oh, yeah, I can really see the undocumented standing in line to receive a license that unequivocally proves they are in the country illegally. Obviously the state of New York needs to provide a “passport,” since the Federal government can’t handle the load.
What happens if Canada and Mexico decide that US citizens need passports and visas?
7 comments
ny drivers license proves only that the examiner was smart enough [or too chicken] to ride with me a second time.
as secure as a passport? as secure as the rfid chips that can be read from several feet away by a something that can be assembled from parts available at your local radio shack? that secure?
Drivers with licenses in Boston have been proving your wrong for decades.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2007/05/miami_has_countrys_worst_drive.html
Hipparchia, it is important that Wal-Mart know how many speeding tickets you’ve had to know what kind of peanut butter to sell you and whether you’re going to need work gloves for the community service associated with the DUI arrest.
Jill, they only rate cities, forgetting the wonderful mix around the big military bases in the South where along with tourists, out of state military, and retirees you have older locals who still act like the main roads are still two lanes dirt roads and working brake lights make it hard to shoot raccoons at night.
ack! typo! that should be “my drivers license…”
jill, i’ve lived in boston and miami, and driven in nyc, and the new yorkers are definitely in third place behind the other two. between boston and miami, it’s a tough choice, but i think the miami drivers might be slightly worse. my driving has actually mellowed somewhat since i left miami.
bryan, i never drink and drive. alcohol slows the reactions and impairs the judgment, making it that much harder to hit one’s intended targets. 😈 also, another toughie, but i think the small-town massachusettsians might be worse drivers than the small-town florabamians.
you mean we’re supposed to have working break lights? 😉
I’m still willing to put our local drivers against bad drivers anywhere, even without the assistance of my great-great uncle Chris who argued that he didn’t need a driver’s license because they didn’t exist when he started driving [true]. and refused to acknowledge the existence of new innovations like speed limits, traffic signs, and stop lights. His spirit lives on in north Okaloosa County, even though he lived his entire life in upstate New York.
your great-great uncle sounds a lot like the people i was running into in the northeast. 🙂