New Hampshire Successfully Launches a New Road Safety Program
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 3 min read
New Hampshire recently launched a "State-to-State Verification Service" for driving records, becoming the 34th state to do so.
Through this system, electronic files can be exchanged between
New Hampshire
and other participating states, which can notify one another about convictions and withdrawals, according to WMUR News 9
. States can also check with the other participating states to see if an applicant holds a driver’s license or identification card in another state.
How the State-to-State Verification Service works
The new service is one of many changes recommended after a crash in Randolph, NH killed seven motorists two years ago. At the time, the Massachusetts RMV did not suspend the license of the suspect in the crash because of a backlog.
An electronic file exchange, such as the State-to-State Verification Service, after that crash would have been helpful to notify about convictions and withdrawals. Now, the DMV can disqualify commercial drivers automatically.
It works by having licensing systems of individual state agencies "talk" to each other through a third-party proprietary technology platform known as the Commercial Driver Licensing Information system (CDLIS).
Since the CDLIS is composed of a pointer index linked to state driver’s licensing systems, states can check the pointer file for a match. If a duplicate license is discovered, the states involved will work together to determine which state has the most recent record. Once that is determined, only the most current record is retained.
And what happens if someone goes to apply for a license and the agency discovers that they already have a record in another state? The person with the duplicate records will be given the option to continue with the new application, or decline to move forward and keep the record in the previous state.
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Complying with State-to-State Verification Service
Each state has a law against holding more than one driver’s license. Before the State-to-State Verification Service existed, there was no way to confirm a person’s identity and their driving history, beyond what information a person would voluntarily offer a licensing agency. The electronic tool can now verify whether an individual already holds a driver’s license or ID card in another state.
Each state determines the standards for issuing driver’s licenses, since they are state documents. There are federal standards for Commercial Driver’s Licenses, but not for non-CDLs.
States choosing to comply with REAL ID will be required to participate in the State-to-State Verification Service, in order to ensure that a person holds only one REAL ID credential.
States that choose to not comply with REAL ID can still choose to participate in the State-to-State Verification Service in order to use the benefits of the service.
According to the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
, the benefits include improved customer service, fighting and reducing identity fraud, increased automation of manual processes, resulting in more efficiency, and improved highway safety by eliminating duplicate licenses. Fighting fraud
As more states start to use the State-to-State Verification Service, it can help fight and reduce identity fraud by preventing people from having multiple IDs.
This may be helpful for the
car insurance
industry, since they use a driver’s license to check driving history. Having the State-to-State Verification Service could prevent someone who has a lot of claims in one state from going to another state and getting a new license.
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