A NEW law coming into effect on January 1 will change the way drivers can carry their license.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill into law on Monday which will allow drivers to carry digital versions of their license – without risking a penalty.

GettyA new law around driving licenses is coming to Illinois[/caption]

GettyIt will see a major change to the way law enforcement can check your ID[/caption]

Recently signed into law, House Bill 4592 gives Illinois residents the option to keep a “mobile Illinois Identification Card or mobile driver’s license.”

But this doesn’t mean the end of physical ID cards, as the digital version would be issued in addition to the regular card, not instead.

The new law also allows agencies and businesses to choose whether they want to accept digital IDs – but stops anyone from requiring a digital ID over a physical version.

What’s more, residents would still have to show their physical ID card to law enforcement, if they request it.

The law also gives officers defense from any blame if a mobile device is damaged, except in the cases of willful and wanton misconduct.

Also, it bars law enforcement from searching an individual’s phone without consent if they provide the digital form of identification.

The text reads: “Provides that the display of a mobile identification card and driver’s license shall not serve as consent or authorization for a law enforcement officer, or any other person, to search, view, or access any other data or application on the mobile device.”

The bill originally passed the state senate and house on May 24, and was sent to Pritzker on June 21.

It will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

This comes as another new legislation is set to go into effect on New Year’s Day that will see parking fines spiking to $50 and double if the ticket goes unpaid for 15 days.

Beginning January 1, traffic infractions in Kingston, New York, about 100 miles north of New York City, will jump from $20 to $50.

Ticket agents who catch unattended double-parked vehicles or cars blocking driveways or crosswalks for pedestrians will be subject to the new fines.

Blocking a fire hydrant will result in an automatic $100 fine.

And elsewhere, a man who was hit with a $50 ticket for parking in a reserved spot was left livid when he discovered no one else parked in the area received a fine.

Jarvis Creagh from Mobile, Alabama, was slapped with the ticket after stopping his car in a bay that’s limited to electric vehicles only.

But Creagh is now demanding that law enforcement officers be held accountable too, stating that several, non-electric police vehicles were parked in the reserved parking area alongside him – but none of them received a ticket.

GettyDrivers are urged to keep hold of their physical ID cards, as the digital version would be issued in addition to the regular card, not instead[/caption]

https://www.the-sun.com/motors/13077308/new-january-1-law-major-change-license-check/