By Neil Schuster, AAMVA President and CEO

It’s easy to be afraid. Looking at news coverage of the towers falling, seeing a city covered in ash and general chaos breaking out in the streets is enough to make anyone paralyzed with fear – incapable of moving forward. And while it would have been easy to give in to the fear, it has taken courage to brush ourselves off and work to make our country safer.  I’m proud to say that in the ten years since the 9/11 attacks, that’s just what we in the AAMVA community have done. We’ve been proactive. We’ve moved forward with steps to ensure that we’re part of the effort to make our country more secure and stronger than ever before.

This has meant that motor vehicle administrators now find themselves on the frontlines of that effort, monitoring document security and making sure everyone with a state-issued driver’s license or ID really is who they say they are. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on Sept. 11, 2001, 19 hijackers used 364 aliases to obtain 26 state-issued DMV identification documents, many through fraudulent means. That’s a stark reminder of how important stopping document and identity fraud really is, and to that end, AAMVA has been at the forefront of improving security of DL/ID cards issued by our members.

AAMVA understands the continuing role identification security will play in helping the general public realize a safer North America. We believe ID security will not only increase national security, but it will also increase highway safety, reduce fraud and system abuse, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and achieve uniformity of processes and practices. Our 2011 DL/ID Card Design Standard is just the latest standard produced over the last decade to help ensure document security.

I’m proud to say that our efforts have not gone unnoticed. This past summer, AAMVA, along with ICE Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Identity and Benefit Fraud Unit (IBFU), was featured in the initial launch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Faces of Homeland Security: Heroes on the Front Lines.  We were recognized along with our campaign partners for our work on “Do the Right Thing - Stop Document and Identity Fraud,” an outreach campaign launched in December 2009 to identify and prevent fraud at department of motor vehicle (DMV) facilities.  The campaign’s main goal is to educate DMV employees, law enforcement and the public about the seriousness of fraud schemes perpetrated at DMV facilities.

We at AAMVA, like countless individuals, agencies and organizations, take our role in enhancing national security very seriously. Every anniversary of 9/11 shines a bright light on why our efforts are important and why they must continue: to prevent those who wish to do us harm from getting the tools they need to carry out their plans. It would have been easier to give into the fear, but I’m proud to say, the AAMVA community is stronger than that.