Pull Over Driver ----Licence Chip Will Tell On You !
POLICE & Queensland Transport public servants will have access to the personal information & photograph of every motorist in the state when new smart card digital drivers' licences are introduced in 2010.
Legislation to authorise the taking, keeping & use of the personal information, digital photos & digitised signatures, to be stored on a central database, was yesterday introduced into State Parliament despite the technology to produce the licence still being in development.
All licences & identification cards issued by Queensland Transport will progressively be upgraded from 2010 to smart cards, including drivers' licences, Adult Proof of Age cards, driver & rider trainers, tow-truck operator licences, recreational marine licences & taxi, bus and limousine licenses.
The digital smart cards will use facial recognition technology to ensure the licences are not open to identity fraud & an electronic chip to store personal information, including names, addresses, date of birth, gender & height.
Although a three-tier system of access will be introduced to protect the information from abuse, police only have to declare they thought there were reasonable grounds of a risk or serious threat to life or health to access it.
Police & transport inspectors will also be given hand-held smart-card readers to access data on the cards at accident scenes & for traffic offences.
State is ready to put your life on driver’s licence
Cards about to get smarter
By Suzanne Lapperman, political reporter
Police would be able to access the information immediately if there was an accident or traffic offence, but would require a judicial order for non-transport related offences. However, if there were grounds to believe there was an emergency situation they could access the files first & get the judicial order later.
"Law enforcement authorities will only be granted access for assistance in investigating illegal activities or in a defined emergency situation where access will help the police where there is an imminent serious risk to safety or health," said Mr Mickel.
He said the new driver's licence would have higher security & better protection against identity fraud than the now-outdated laminated cards. The new licence was still being developed but it would be plastic, credit card-sized & embedded with a computer chip.
It would replace the current laminated card which has been used in
As with the current laminated licence, the new licence would feature an image of the motorist & their signature.
By using improved technology, the photograph & signature would be digital -- making it much harder to fake.
"Cards with embedded chips are increasingly being adopted around the world because they provide better security than the traditional laminated cards or plastic magnetic stripe cards," said Mr Mickel.
"Fake licences can be used to commit a wide range of crimes, such as money laundering, creating false identities & identity theft.
Between July & December, 2007, the Queensland Police Service recorded 1193 offences of identity theft.
In addition, the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Personal Fraud Survey, released in June, 2008, showed there were 806,000 victims of personal fraud in
Mr Mickel said the motorist's address would not be shown. Instead, it would be stored electronically on the smart chip.
"This new feature is aimed at personal safety & protection of property. Think of it this way -- does your ATM card show your address? Your credit card? Your Medicare card? No," he said.
"From now on, if a person has lost or had their handbag or wallet stolen, the chance of the driver's licence being used to break into their house is significantly decreased."
It is expected to take five years for all
(source: Gold Coast Bulletin