Programming issue leads to improper ID verification of Indianapolis drivers

Approximately 2.4 million people in Indianapolis will need to renew their driver's licenses in 2012, a marked increase from the 260,000 who must do so in 2011, The Indianapolis Star reports. To remind drivers to renew, the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles began mailing postcards to motorists. However, due to a programming glitch, many cards were addressed with improper identity verification. In fact, 58,600 people across the state were improperly identified. "It makes us look silly," Greg Lubsen, BMV deputy communications director, tells the news source. "But the information to renew is correct." The BMV spent $247,450 to mail the faulty postcards, which contained the correct last name and address but the wrong first name. Patricia Shaefer, of small business resource website Business Know-How, explained to Overnight Prints that spelling, punctuation or typographical errors reflects poorly on the sender, especially if that sender is a business. The Real ID Act, enacted in 2005 to create more secure diver's licenses by 2014, resulted in the adjustment of many state license expiration dates, according to the Star.