DRIVER'S LICENCE ON SMART-CARD?
A Swedish inventor has presented the prototype of an "electronic driver's licence". If introduced, the new smart-card would constitute a further important step towards generalised electronic policing.
When inventor Fred Goldberg's stepdaughter was killed in a traffic accident caused by a driver without licence, he decided to look for a technical solution to prevent illegal driving.
A year ago he obtained a grant from Vägverket , the Swedish national road and traffic board, that enabled him to develop his idea of an electronic driver's licence.
Recently, Mr Goldberg presented a first prototype of his invention. The card works as an ignition key for the car. If the driver is without licence, the car can not be started. For autumn, Goldberg plans to be ready with a door lock that is opened and locked by the card.
An electronic chip fitted into the card makes it possible to store a lot of information. In addition to information referring to the licence it can also contain personal medical data. "One can store information on whether the driver is willing to donate organs if he should die in an accident", Mr Goldberg suggests. Moreover a driver submitted to certain restrictions following, for instance, a sentence for drunken driving can be enjoined to have an "alco-lock" mounted in his car. The chip-card will then be programmed to prevent ignition if the driver fails to blow into the alcohol test device built in the car.
Should Goldberg's dreams come true, the card would also prevent car thefts. The police would maintain a register with secret code signals that would be sent out by radio and received only by the stolen car searched for. After 30 seconds the radio signal would interrupt the car's ignition.
"This would help prevent dangerous police chases and if the car lacks insurance or the driver is prohibited from driving, it will be possible to send out another signal after some time - a stop-code making it impossible to use the car", the inventor enthuses. This information shall be local and automatically show on a display mounted into the car's front panel.
Source: Dagens Nyheter, 4.8.94; On electronic surveillance, see also FECL No.24, p.9; No.21, p.12; No.17, p.4; No.12, p.9.