So the other day I was out with some people and for some reason I had to pull out my drivers license. End result we started talking about licenses and it sort of dawned on me (only based on the people I was with), that most people fudge the numbers significantly on their license.
Seems it sort of defeats the purpose of the license, if it says you are 5’9"and 150 pounds and you are really 5’6" and 250 pounds.
Now my license reflects my accurate height and weight, and most of the men in the group stated the same. There were several women who admited fudging the numbers ‘a wee bit’, and several wouldn’t divulge anything, leading me to believe they really fudged the numbers.
Totally unscientific here but curious if that holds up here. Women fudge the numbers more than men do.
So on your drivers license is your height and weight accurate? By accurate let’s use the +/- 5 pounds of where your normal weight and 1/2" of your height.
My driver’s license does not say my weight anywhere on it. I think the height is slightly inaccurate (it says 183 cm, but I doubt I’m over 180 or 181), but I don’t recall consciously lying about it. Honestly, I don’t even think the height was self-reported, but rather measured on the spot. It was about 8 years ago that they took this information so I may be misremembering that.
Mine is 100% accurate based on your definition of accurate at the time I filled out the paperwork for it.
As of right now, I believe it is still reasonable close. IOW, no, I didn’t lie about my height or weight.
I wonder what would happen if the DMV just had the clerk check your height/weight/eye and hair color right there when you got your license. I suppose that would slow things down even more and probably cause lots of problems with people accusing the scales of being wrong, but at least they DLs would be accurate. OTOH, does it really matter? Do we really ever use the height and weight on there for anything important?
My CA license has my correct height, but the weight is about 50 pounds below my actual weight. However, when I actually entered that weight when filling out the form 15 years ago, it was accurate. Every time I’ve renewed since then, the information was just carried over from before. Didn’t even get a new photo last time.
The weight listed on my license is wrong because I didn’t know how much I weighed and just guessed. Had I had the foresight to weigh myself before going in I wouldn’t have lied. My height is accurate on my license.
Mine was accurate at the time it was issued. It never would have occurred to me to lie about it. Why would you? The license is being used for identification purposes; wouldn’t you want it to accurately identify you?
Color me enlightened. I didn’t realize that some states didn’t have the weight (or height!) on their license. Every state I have lived in has required that. Interesting as I hadn’t even thought of that option. And of course being typical American-centric I didn’t put options for other countries–sorry about that guys. But you all are doing a good job explaining the various options that I forgot.
Just got mine renewed for my 21st birthday last week. I looked at the form, thought about giving myself an extra inch of height, then sighed and didn’t. I think my weight’s accurate, though I haven’t weighed myself in months.
CA ID card since I don’t drive. It was accurate 5 years ago and still is even though it expired 2 months ago.:smack: (I just looked at it for the first time in I don’t know how long)
In Arizona licenses take forever and a half to expire (mine will expire in 2054), in fact, when I got my new one for being 21, I don’t think anything changed except it was printed landscape instead of vertically. So my information still lists me as being 2 inches taller and a bit heavier like I was when I first got it (I was fat enough that it gave me extra height, at least according to the doctor’s measuring thing). I could get it changed, I guess, but I think I’m close enough and the picture is obvious enough that nobody will really notice or care.
In other words, I didn’t lie, even if the information is a bit incorrect now.
Swedish driver’s licence, no weight nor height. Just name, date of birth and national ID number (plus picture and signature).
I’m pretty sure I got those right.
I find the idea of having weight weird. Surely that can change. I know Swedish passports have at least height (and maybe weight) and I had to show my British passport to some workmates who didn’t believe that we don’t have (yet) such things on ours.
I’m a woman and I can’t comprehend [del]lying[/del] fudging either my height or weight (both included on MI licenses) on my license.
Mind you I think the weight requirement is a little strange, for reasons already stated.
My photo is 3 1/2 years old and shows me with shoulder-length red hair and bangs. And no glasses. Now I have short gray hair because I finally gave up coloring it earlier this year. And glasses. My license expires early next year, so the new photo will reflect the new, older me.
Although my weight never changes and I’ve yet to start shrinking in height, so the height and weight will remain the same.
And Swedish ones don’t even have address. That’ll be connected to your ID number which is stored in a database somewhere. Just the ID number on the card.
:dubious: