Moroccan driving licences

Smartcards are being introduced as the basis for 12 million driving licences and vehicle registration cards in Morocco. The programme, which aims to reinforce road safety and modernise services in the kingdom will roll out over seven years.

The multi-application contactless smart cards have encrypted components. The program is built on sophisticated technologies applied to database management on a national level. Assiaqa Card will carry out, operate, finance and maintain the electronic driver’s licence and vehicle registration system.

During a police check, an officer will pass the card over a smartcard reader to access the data stored in memory.

Since the official data (last name, first name, ID card number) does not take up much space, other uses have already been discussed. The storage of medical data, such as the bearer's blood group or medicines to be avoided, would be useful to the emergency services. This would avoid delays and the risk of mistakes being made. Some suggest expanding the use to include car hire and identification at toll booths - but this would need a greater proliferation of smartcard readers.

As they become more widely distributed, the cards should help to bring down significantly the incidence of road traffic infringements and eliminate fraud.

Supplier: Sagem Orga GmbH, Sagem Sécurité
Products: contactless smartcard