ORLANDO, Fla. — As the quality of fake licenses and other documents continues to improve, law enforcement officers must keep up to spot the frauds, a safety expert told a group of inspectors at their annual competition Aug. 8.
When verifying a document’s authenticity during a roadside stop, inspectors need to look at the document’s quality, the layout of images and graphics, and the information listed, explained Paul Steier, law enforcement program manager with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
Typically, discrepancies in facial features are difficult to catch, and the background on a license may not match the information in a database, said Steier, who was addressing participants at the North American Inspectors Championship, hosted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
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Also, he urged inspectors to learn more about the states advancing the use of digital driver’s licenses.
“Plastic credentials are counterfeited too easily. And so this is one way that’s being piloted and tested around the nation to see if we can make the identity process safer, more secure,” Steier said of digital licenses.
Afterward, safety inspectors sat through a refresher course on hazardous materials regulations, covering rules for the transport of fuel and fertilizer to proper record keeping for drivers and carriers.
