Regional sites:
Specialized sites:
The smart card driver's license scheme that was piloted in Nuevo Leon last year has proved so beneficial in reducing traffic accidents, insurance costs, identity theft and even fraud in the administration that the project is set to expand further into the country.
The card's efficiency in storing extensive driver information, such as details of previous accidents and traffic violations, is a big draw for licensing authorities and police alike.
The sum of traffic fines paid in 2007 was higher than the combined sum of fines paid in the last 5 years!
It is playing a vital role in reducing the number of accidents on Mexico's roads, too.
Since the scheme's launch in Nuevo León in January 2007, the number of road
accidents in the state's three major municipalities has fallen dramatically,
from 41,993 in 2006 to just 4,575 in the first third of 2008. The numbers of fatalities and incidents of drink driving have also been significantly reduced.
| 2006 | 2007 | Q1 2008 | |
| Total of accidents | 41,993 | 40,744 | 4,575 |
| Damage per accident | 11,785 28% |
10,757 26% |
1,166 25% |
| Fatalities | 106 0.25% |
82 0.20% |
18 0.39% |
| Accident due to alcohol intoxication | 1,743 4.1% |
1,391 3.4% |
114 2.5% |
As well as proving useful for traffic authorities in the country, the smart
card licenses are benefiting drivers in the fight against identity theft.
Because it stores its owner's photograph and fingerprints, the license is a
watertight credential, and people who want to obtain credit, cash checks or open
bank accounts are using it as ID. Banks are able to read the cards using their
existing POS payment terminals.
Another advantage for drivers is lower insurance costs, as swift and reliable
access to drivers' histories enables insurance companies to issue more accurate
premiums.
The state of Nuevo León's Board for Transport and Roads is delighted with the scheme.
"The electronic licenses allow us to collect information about drivers and their vehicles instantly, whereas before this process would take a lot of time, especially when data had to travel across municipality borders," says Dr Hernán Villareal, the department's executive director. He adds that the eDriver licenses also serve an additional purpose in protecting the public from one of Mexico's more controversial driving issues – bribe-taking by unscrupulous officials. "With this technology, we know that tickets for traffic offenses can be issued remotely, which enables us to fight corruption."
| << Back to: The Solution | << Back to Overview |
State of Mexico started issuing new eDriving license in 2008. Here in the capital, Toluca.
State of Veracruz:
population 7m
State of Sonora : population 2,2m
State of Mexico : population 14m
