WHILE-YOU-WAIT DRIVER'S LICENSES COMING

Missouri's driver's licenses will enter the age of new technology early next year in Cape Girardeau when the Department of Revenue's fee office begins making the licenses on the spot instead of having to wait several weeks for the licenses to arrive in the mail

The new while-you-wait licenses have some other improvements too. They are sturdier, have more information, include several security innovations and even have a magnetic stripe that some day will be useful for storing pertinent information.

Many states have been offering instant driver's licenses for a number of years. Missouri's effort has already started in metropolitan areas and should be available statewide sometime next year.

This upgrade in the small piece of plastic that has so many uses is a welcome product of current technology.