By Steve Ranger, 13 March 2006 12:20
NEWS
The DVLA has started preparing for the possible production of driving licences with microchips on them.
European law is currently being updated to allow member states to add chips to driving licences. At the same time, the DVLA is upgrading its driving licence card production facility to address the increasing threat to the driving licence from counterfeiters.
The agency has recently signed a deal for the supply of hardware and software to produce a more secure, laser engraved polycarbonate driving licence.
And the contract award notice for the deal, issued last month, states: "A likely future development is the inclusion of the chip."
The DVLA told silicon.com in a statement: "There is a requirement for the equipment to be flexible enough in order to have the capability to cater for future operational and security requirements and volumes."
At the moment EU members are prohibited from adding chips to licences. But EC proposals for a third directive on driving licences, currently under negotiation, include the option for member states to include a microchip.
The DVLA told silicon.com in a statement: "A decision on whether the UK would want to include a microchip on the driving licence has not yet been taken. Any such decision would require ministerial approval beforehand."
The DVLA said it does not know when the new directive will be adopted - and even once it is, governments have six years to implement it.
But the DVLA's 2005-06 Business Plan notes: "The possible inclusion of a microchip on the licences, as proposed in the draft Third EU Directive on driving licences, may provide an opportunity for DVLA to improve further the security of the licence photocard."
It adds: "We are procuring new card production equipment with the capability of delivering smartcard licences that will also address the physical security of our card production."
Comments
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1. Richard
What about unlicenced drivers?
How will the "...more secure, laser engraved polycarbonate driving licence..." combat the serious problem of people who drive without any licence or insurance, or training?
Yet again, the government wants to clamp down on ordinary law abiding people, whilst ignoring the real, but difficult problem.
Also, why should the DVLA need a "business plan?" They should be a public service, not a profit centre!
2. David Charlesworth
When are publishers and Jounalists going start having opinions rather that just reporting, as they used to!
The problems are too great to go into here, but the simple fact is, this UK Govenment is the most dangerous and damaging in UK history and they are using Technology AGAINST the public, not for their benefit.
For F*** sake, hammer these people. Make the public realise that NONE of this is good. It is about control... and the prospect for the future is terrifying.
3. Peter Robinson
Lets make driving licences obsolete by rolling the type, start and end date, penalties etc. into the COMPULSORY ID card/passport, saving another government IT disaster.
Only the police or hire car agents need to see the Driving Licence, so 2 classes of ID card reader are enough:
Police need full ID check anyway, so adding validity is peanuts
Agents need Yes/No on validity for details they enter (type of vehicle and end date)
4. anonymous
Together with Passports this is another step in the directon of Identy Cards. The law abiding citizen should have nothing to fear from this proposal provided that the new Driving Licences cannot be cloned.
5. anonymous
We should all be driving round in cars displaying a current insurance and MOT certificate.
Tax should be collected from fuel only.
I'm a genius or is this just common sense
6. Andrew Lewis
Think of all the rubbish you have to carry in your wallet.....bits of plastic for this that and the other.
If you had one card for passport, driving license and ID it would be a progressive step.
Virtually every other eu country has ID cards, so what is the problem?
Another plus would be putting your endorsement on your driving license rather than this ridiculous business of having to have a separate piece of paper!
To control privacy of different aspects of data stored on the card all you would have to do is have differently encrypted areas of data with the relevant authorities only have decryption for information that was relevant to them.
Thiscould include car hire firms so they could only access your license details.
I fail to see this as a potential invasion of privacy as given time at present the police through the PNC and other sources could get all the information they wanted on you regardless. Just think. More police catching more villains and spending less time researching a person in the station.
Criminals beware. It might be better for you to get a legitimate tax paying job in the future as the odds won't be quite so much in your favour.
7. Simon
So another specified document that will require registration in the "totally optional" NIR - and without any requirement to even tell parliament.
So when you include anyone that might want to travel, and anyone that might want to drive, what percentage of the population will it be that are forced to register on the non-mandatory register.
Yet another "Mandatory ID cards by stealth" scheme.
8. Chris Goodman
DVLA is funded by licence fees to cover the cost of operating the system.
They have no authority in their charter to use any of that income to prepare for what is currently illegal - putting a chip in a driving licence.
Anyway, once you get a chipped driving licence it should be fairly easy to invisibly disable the chip,
like iron it in a shirt pocket.
9. anonymous
...and no doubt the Police and Car Hire companies in the UK will still demand to see the stupid bit of paper that makes up "the complete licence", instead of accepting the card!
10. Big Brother's Baldrick
Connect the car's computer to a card reader.
When you insure the car, you get a plastic card with a chip, with details of who is insured to drive it.
Before starting car you must insert your chipped driving licence into the card reader, and enter your pin.
If your licence covers you for the car and you are insured for the car, the engine will start, otherwise it is disabled.
If you break the speed limit, the sat nav, sends details to the police, together with your licence details. Fine is deducted by direct debit & if it takes you over the points allowance, the engine stops!
Shhhh! - don't tell Tony Blair
11. Alan Brown
Tiny Blur according to reports, is not very computer literate. Although he is like Gordon B, a control freak. As an earlier correspondent wrote. This government is very dangerous. A bill is currently going through Parliament that will remove the necessity to hold a General Election every five years. So paving the way toward a dictatorship.
The most CCTV cameras per head of population. Draconian pseudo anti-terrorist laws, so far only used against members of the indigenous population.
Unelected Regional Assemblies, run by Labour Party appointees & so it goes on & on & on & on. Almost daily it seems, more oppressive announcements are made.
Heaven help us...............
12. Richard Murray
In response to Richard's post - when have the DVLA been responsible for people driving "without any licence or insurance, [sic] or training"? Would that not come under the police's remit?
The issues that surround this seem to be forgery of identification, european coercion and a nebulous fear that driving licences are being used as stealth ID cards.
And as for why the DVLA should have a business plan, it has something to do with running themselves efficently, not relying on government bail-outs rather than making a profit. That is lazy word association.
Also, a genuine question - wouldn't you rather be a citizen than a voter?
13. anonymous
This wouldn't be ID card by stealth would it?
14. anonymous
What it really comes down to is this government seems to be determined to issue us all with some form of ID card, and if they can do through the back door of driving licences then the next step to ID cards for everyone isn't that much of a next step. Just how many people in this country have driving licences anyway??
And for that matter why do you need our details for posting a comment.
[Ed note. We ask for some details from readers - though clearly readers can choose for their name not to be available to others reading the site. (Email addresses never appear automatically.) The main reason is that if we have to check the information provided, such as accusations against another party, we can do so and ensure the comment is posted with no risk. Of course people can and do choose to post anonymously. That is fine, though there is always the chance that a post containing information we need to verify will not see the light of day.]
15. anonymous
Great idea. Let's roll all our identity documents into one super duper ID card.
That way, when I accidentally lose it / have it stolen / put it through the tumble drier / drop it through a drain grating, I automatically lose my driving licence as well as my passport and my ability to prove my ID to anyone who needs it.
Plus I have to pay HM Govt another hundred quid or so to get it replaced.
Anyone else see the flaw in this scheme?