Scholar & Athlete

New vertical driver's license for those under 21

Tuesday, February 01, 2011 By Sarah Sabliny

By Sarah Sabliny Staff Reporter For many teenagers, getting a driver’s license is a symbol of adulthood and the freedom that comes with it. The look of that symbol has changed for anyone under the age of 21. Since October 2010, California has been issuing vertical driver’s license cards to drivers under 21, as opposed to the traditional horizontal cards. The vertical card makes it easier to identify potential underage drinkers. Published reports say that the new license also makes it easier for police officers and owners of local stores to identify shoplifters. Having a shoplifter identified as under 21 years of age helps them track them down with local information and facts. Tracy Police Officer, Matt Grijalva feels like it is going to help secure peoples information and protect them. “No, I haven’t seen them yet on anyone I have pulled over, but I feel like it’s more for citizens and their privacy rather than for us,” Grijalva said. Lieutenant Dave Lundgren, of the Hayward Police Department feels like this new idea is going to help police offices all over California. “I think it’s a new helpful step to making California safer and better,” Lundgren said. The new features that come with the new horizontal and vertical licenses are that the signature and birthday will be raised so they can be felt by touch. Hidden pictures can be seen by ultraviolet light and the California bear can be seen with a flashlight. All these new features make these new licenses harder to forge. In a statement, DMV Director George Valverde said, the new California driver’s license is one of the most secure identification documents in all of the United States. Junior Devon Denholm got his new driver’s license in November and was disappointed with it. “I don’t feel like I accomplished something big when I got the license in the mail and it came out vertical,” Denholm said. “I still feel like an unimportant teenager.” Although Denholm wasn’t happy about the new vertical card, junior Bryce Charles is looking forward to getting her driver’s license after passing her driving test on Jan. 4. “Honestly, I don’t care about what the new driver’s license looks like,” Charles said. “Having it vertical or horizontal doesn’t affect my freedom.”