A New Jersey lawmaker will soon introduce legislation that directs the state Motor Vehicle Commission to study the idea of creating electronic drivers licenses that could be carried on your smartphone as an app.

(Chris McGrath/Getty Images News)
(Chris McGrath/Getty Images News)
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According to State Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) this kind of a setup could be beneficial for a number of reasons.

"First and foremost people frequently have their phones more frequently than they have their wallets, it saves the state money because it's probably cheaper to process the licenses," he said. "You've got people who want to use the phone for that center of gravity in their lives, it helps to make a convenience component, and it helps from an efficiency component on the state level."

Kean said this kind of a system, if it is put in place, would be optional.

"Nobody is going to be mandated to have an online application for their state drivers license," he said. "The paper option will still be just as valid and just as available as today."

Kean said a license app makes sense considered the way technology is evolving, but security should also be taken into consideration.

"Many people might benefit from having this option, but security is a concern and we need to see what works and what doesn't. If it doesn't than that's fine but we should look at it," Kean said.

The bottom line, he said, is that it's a help for the motorist, because they more frequently have their phones on them than their wallets, and so it's just a much more common sense type of approach.

The state of Iowa has already developed an electric drivers license program that is currently being rolled out. Transportation officials have recommended studying what has taken place there, before anything is done in New Jersey.

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