No Smiles At NJ Motor Vehicle Commission

Reader Presto Vivace blesses us with news that the state of New Jersey "has banned motorists from making big smiles [for their license pictures] because such expressions don't work with facial recognition software." Now that passports are by decree grim and glasses-free, I'm expecting the next phase to involve the banning of facial hair, lips, and any hair that blocks the ears.

Smiling foold facial recognition?

[KatchooNJ]

So... To flip this... does that mean if I smile when doing something naughty, I won't be recognized by the serious computers?

Re:Smiling foold facial recognition?

[Firehed]

Cue the Joker references.

How to troll the DMV, from G4TV

[Rakarra]

Picture link [g4tv.com]. Simple effective fun!
The result: The finished license. [g4tv.com]

Re:No smiles in Ohio

[fearlezz]

Nor the Netherlands. Seems politicians want to wipe every single smile of our faces.

Re:thanks for the info

[PRMan]

Don't lie. Nobody smiles in NJ, because it's NJ...

Re:I smiled for my NJ license

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah but when I tried they deported me to Mexico for not having ID... I tried to tell them I was Puerto Rican and born in the US but the Sherif was a real dick about it.

Re:No smiles in Ohio

[The Grim Reefer]

It's been almost two years since I renewed my license in Virginia too. What's even funnier is that the guy ahead of me had a tee shirt on with Bob Marley on it. The print of Bob smiling on the shirt screwed up the camera (or operator) somehow. After several attempts they made him turn his shirt inside-out.

Re:No smiles in Ohio

[K. S. Kyosuke]

I renewed my license over a year ago, and was quite firmly instructed that smiles were not allowed in drivers license photos because it screws up the facial recognition software.

That means you have to smile while driving. :-)

Re:thanks for the info

[K. S. Kyosuke]

NJ = No Joysey?