Backup at the Border

We are only a few short months away from needing the enhanced driver license to get into the neighbor from the North. I am one of those not included in the numbers being used by the Erie County clerk's office as I have not yet taken the plunge and forked over the money to update my license.

The object of course is to make it easier for Border agents to know who is crossing into the country.

The new enhanced driver’s licenses, which send out a radio signal that produces an image of the traveler and his pertinent information on a computer screen inside the border inspection booth, are expected to speed up crossings, according to U. S. Customs & Border Protection.

“The delays will decrease as officers don’t have to type in the information from the document or examine a variety of documents that have little or no security features, such as birth certificates,” said Kevin A. Corsaro, chief of the Buffalo field office for Customs & Border Protection.

This however, does not take into account the fact that no matter how many times I go over to Canada, I usually end up picking the completely wrong line and watch cars on both the left and right of me zoom into and out of the booth.

The article goes further into detail about the specifics of the licenses, border crossings, etc. but what really struck me is this line:

This all comes as the Peace Bridge, for the first time in two decades, has become the busiest northern border crossing, surpassing the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, with 6.8 million individuals crossing from Fort Erie, Ont., into Buffalo last year.

The Peace Bridge is the busiest northern border crossing. BUSIEST.

AND WE STILL CAN NOT BUILD A NEW FREAKING BRIDGE!!!!

But I digress.

In other news, I for one can't wait for the day I walk into the local liqour store and the clerk asks for my ID (yes, I look that young) and then tells me that the new license is a fake and I can't get my bottle(s) of wine.