The Delaware Department of Transportation is testing a new mobile driver license for smartphones.
About 200 Delawareans enrolled in DelDOT’s six-month pilot program are already testing their mobile driver license in real world scenarios. Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan says hers has worked in some places but not in others.
“It’s about 50-50. We could get through Southwest, but TSA questioned it and required in addition to that something else to prove your identity,” said Cohan. “All different places in D.C. accepted in. I couldn’t check into a hotel with it. So that’s what we’re testing right now, to see what the appetite is.”
Cohan says about five other states are launching similar projects. But the Delaware mobile license has extra built in features including a movable 3D photo of the driver, a watermark and a tool to allow law enforcement to request driver info before approaching a vehicle.
There’s also a privacy menu.
“If you just want to purchase a beer at a bar, or prove that you are 21, you can actually pull down the privacy menu and click that ‘prove that you are 21,’” said Cohan. “Now all that individual that needs to prove your age sees is one: the secure movable image and two: the fact that you are 21 or older,”
Cohan says the mobile license is not meant to replace a physical driver’s license.
