Originally Posted by
Dovster
I would be interested in hearing your take on why it is important to know if the license is expired.
Let's assume that I fly JFK-FLL for a month, and in the middle of that month my license expires. On my way down there, the license is accepted as proof that I really am who I say I am. Does the fact that it expires before I fly back make me a different person?
An expired license merely means that I am no longer legally able to drive. It does not mean that I have become someone else.
Counter-intuitive as it may be, all the legal parameters require that a "valid ID" be presented for proof of anything. So it turns out that an expired ID is not accepted by anybody following the law, as proof of anything; not age, not identity; not address; nothing.
An expired ID does not insinuate that you "have become someone else." It just may not be accepted as "valid proof."
An example of this frustrating but legally imposed requirement, is that here in Maui County, as mandated by the Maui Liquor Commission, a bartender/bouncer/doorman may not legally accept an expired ID as proof of age, even though it's patently obvious that the presenter's age has not suddenly diminished to under 21.