RFID driving licences could be used for Canada-US border crossings

Washington State drivers are soon to be subject to a pilot trial of RFID embedded driving licenses that will be used to facilitate the passage of Americans returning from trips to Canada. The new licenses will be issued from January 2008 and will look almost identical to traditional licenses, but will include information about citizenship and other unnamed variables. For now, the new cards will remain optional and will cost only $40 (compared to a $97 passport) but will require an interview in person along with proof of American citizenship. The underlying reasoning for the trial is the changes to federal security rules which make it a requirement for all citizens — American or not — to prove their identity when entering the US by sea or land. Accompanying the trial is the usual series of justifications by authorities like Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff who said "It is security for our nation and our state. But it's also security for the individual"; Stockwell Day, Canada's public safety minister, even threw in the obligatory 9/11 reference by reminding us that "Canadians also died in those towers". Oh, where were the insecure RFID tags on September 10?

[Thanks, Samuel V]