Road runner : 4 states don't want smiles for driver's license photos

It's not that Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia want to be the picture of unhappy motoring. They just say it helps thwart license fraud.

Apparently, those states are using some kind of software to compare new license photos with old ones to ensure no duplicates, and thus less fraud. Supposedly, the lack of expression makes it easier on the system.

Anyone else think this is wacky?

What I can't get past is the new, dull expressions will now be compared to old, sometimes smiley, expressions — to the degree anyone is really smiling for their license mug shots, if the MVD experience in those states is anything like here. If the computer ID system can't handle a glimmering smile now, how will it cope with the old smiles?

Here in Arizona, many people have a license that expires at age 65 but drivers are required to update their license photos every 12 years.

In addition to the fact that if you want to get a new license (say, you've moved and you need to update your address), all you need to do is go online to request one. It will show up in a matter of days with your old picture — the one they took back before you gained 50 pounds and your hair fell out.

Oh, I suppose with the computerized image-aging systems now available the MVD could automatically program your picture to get older as you do. But how accurate would that be?

It seems like a better way to get around license fraud would be to require people to update their licenses (and photos) more frequently. I think some states require in-person renewal every two to four years, and when a person goes in to get the new license, the old one is either confiscated or disabled, such as with a hole punched in it like used casino playing cards.

Also, I didn't think a lot of people manufacturing fake identification were bothering to go through official state offices to do so. Maybe that shows how little I know about making fake IDs. But I've always thought of it as more of a dark-basement or backroom operation.

If fake identification is being made in state offices, I hope there are plenty of ways to figure it out other than just a person's smile, or lack of one.

So for now, keep smiling. Unless you happen to be renewing your driver's license in Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada or Virginia.

Road Q

Question: "I commute to work by bicycle several times a week and ride through a couple of huge intersections with the green light countdown timers (Grant/Kolb/Tanque Verde and Broadway/Kino). They are a great aid to help me to get through the intersection. If I'm several yards out from the intersection and see single digits on the timer, I know to slow down and stop because the light will turn yellow and instead of 'racing' the oncoming left turners, I prepare to stop. I have noticed, however, green lights don't always turn yellow at '0' — a lot of the time they do, but some of the time they don't. I haven't noticed a time of day pattern for the delayed yellow and would like any info on what the pattern is," wrote Martha Lemen.

Answer: Though the lights sometimes turn yellow when the countdown hits zero, the Tucson Department of Transportation doesn't want traffic using those countdowns to make driving or bicycling decisions. They are posted for pedestrians, and, as Lemen noted, don't always coincide with the yellow signal.

The countdown indicates the time left before the solid "don't walk" symbol displays on the pedestrian signal. It does not necessarily identify time left before the green light turns yellow, said Mike Hicks, who manages the city's electronic traffic signal system.