In the spring of 2009, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing newly designed driver licenses made of laser engraved polycarbonate. The measure will be implemented in order to make it harder to counterfeit driver licenses.
The idea of changing the driver licenses came soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the thorough investigations afterwards revealed that some of the terrorist were using Virginia issued driver licenses, wtvr.com reports.
"The reason we are going to higher security is to stay ahead of the bad guys. We don't want Virginia Driver's License's or Virginia ID documents duplicated," D.B. Smit, Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles told the aforementioned source.
Two million dollars were invested into research for the new licenses, that will not only look different, but will also be made in only one "central facility which allows us to put a lot more security into the production of the driver's license.," added the official.
The new driver licenses will be laser engraved and will feature a second photo. All primary photographs will be grayscaled, full faced and displayed on the left side of the cards, while the secondary ones will be displayed in a clear window, visible from the front and back of the documents.
Just like the current driver licenses, depending on your age, the new IDs will be either horizontal format, if you're over 21, or vertical, if you're under the respective age limit.
All Virginia licenses issued after July 2009 will be new secure cards. Driver's licenses and ID cards issued prior to implementation of the new format remain valid until expiration.
The idea of changing the driver licenses came soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the thorough investigations afterwards revealed that some of the terrorist were using Virginia issued driver licenses, wtvr.com reports.
"The reason we are going to higher security is to stay ahead of the bad guys. We don't want Virginia Driver's License's or Virginia ID documents duplicated," D.B. Smit, Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles told the aforementioned source.
Two million dollars were invested into research for the new licenses, that will not only look different, but will also be made in only one "central facility which allows us to put a lot more security into the production of the driver's license.," added the official.
The new driver licenses will be laser engraved and will feature a second photo. All primary photographs will be grayscaled, full faced and displayed on the left side of the cards, while the secondary ones will be displayed in a clear window, visible from the front and back of the documents.
Just like the current driver licenses, depending on your age, the new IDs will be either horizontal format, if you're over 21, or vertical, if you're under the respective age limit.
All Virginia licenses issued after July 2009 will be new secure cards. Driver's licenses and ID cards issued prior to implementation of the new format remain valid until expiration.