T-Bone _ Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 From USAToday: Stopping driver's license fraud is no laughing matter: Four states are ordering people to wipe the grins off their faces in their license photos. "Neutral facial expressions" are required at departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) in Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia. That means you can't smile, or smile very much. Other states may follow. The serious poses are urged by DMVs that have installed high-tech software that compares a new license photo with others that have already been shot. When a new photo seems to match an existing one, the software sends alarms that someone may be trying to assume another driver's identity. But there's a wrinkle in the technology: a person's grin. Face-recognition software can fail to match two photos of the same person if facial expressions differ in each photo, says Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor Takeo Kanade. Dull expressions "make the comparison process more accurate," says Karen Chappell, deputy commissioner of the Virginia DMV, whose no-smile policy took effect in March. Elaine Mullen of Great Falls, Va., bristled at the policy while renewing her license until she heard the reasoning. "It's probably safer from a national-security point of view," she says. Arkansas, Indiana and Nevada allow slight smiles. "You just can't grin really large," Arkansas driver services chief Tonie Shields says. A total of 31 states do computerized matching of driver's license photos and three others are considering it, says the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Most say their software matches faces regardless of expressions. "People can smile here in Pennsylvania," state Transportation Department spokesman Craig Yetter says. In Illinois, photo matching has stopped 6,000 people from getting fraudulent licenses since the technology was launched in 1999, says Beth Langen, the state head of Drivers Services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachael Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 i don't know why, but i laughed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Should have seen the fuss the made when I tried to renew my license in Florida after losing a couple of hundred pounds. I had to drag my mom down there, plus a gazillion other pieces of identification. If I'd had gastric bypass surgery, I could have just gotten a note from my surgeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotusTuusMaria Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 i am smiling when i get my license picture. so boo on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea316 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Mwahaha...I barely just got my new Virginia license! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 How are they going to keep a 16 year old who just got their license from smiling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveletslive Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 they will seriously make you retake it until you aren't smiling. they also make you take your glasses off. my mom looks like a scary criminal in her license photo my brother got away with a tiny smirk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 [quote name='loveletslive' post='1876120' date='May 26 2009, 08:35 PM']they will seriously make you retake it until you aren't smiling. they also make you take your glasses off. my mom looks like a scary criminal in her license photo my brother got away with a tiny smirk.[/quote] My husband looks like a criminal in his! His hair is really thick and stick straight; it is kinda like Dr. Who's hair, and my husband is a big guy. And he hadn't shaved, and isn't smiling. He tells everyone he took the picture the day he got out of jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosieranna Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 [quote name='Terra Firma' post='1876159' date='May 26 2009, 10:53 PM']My husband looks like a criminal in his! His hair is really thick and stick straight; it is kinda like Dr. Who's hair, and my husband is a big guy. And he hadn't shaved, and isn't smiling. He tells everyone he took the picture the day he got out of jail. [/quote] Sounds like our family passport photos. I look stoned, my dad looks constipated, my sister has stupid hair, and my mom looks pretty shifty. When I renewed my license, my smile earned me a glare and retake. Sadness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norseman82 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 [quote name='Terra Firma' post='1876159' date='May 26 2009, 10:53 PM']it is kinda like Dr. Who's hair,[/quote] Which one? And does he get a "T" class license so he can operate a TARDIS? Sorry, couldn't resist!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone _ Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 I'm guessing the 4th Doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology cat Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 You can't smile for the pics here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurrexi Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I smiled in my picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puellapaschalis Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 You're not allowed to smile in passport photos for Dutch passports. But I have a UK passport, so pooh-pooh on Dutch rules. Only I'm not smiling in my passport photo either. However there are no rules (much) about the photos you need for rail discount cards and the like, so I have an inane and slightly moronic grin on mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groo the Wanderer Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 they would have fits with The Joker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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