I just want to add my 2 cents. As an LEO in NY, I come across plenty of car stops where the motorist states, “Sorry, I left my wallet at home.” This is very frustrating…
The proper procedure is to bring them back to the station house to verify their identification. Furthermore, a traffic summons cannot be issued unless the motorist is properly identified with a photo ID at the least. I can then enter their name and get their driver’s license info from the DMV database but without a photo ID, I can’t take someone’s word for it. Also, I don’t necessarily feel comfortable letting someone go with no ID who was just driving at a triple digit speed.
I can assure you nobody wants to go through the process of bringing someone in, towing their car (if on the highway and if they’re the sole occupant or nobody else is licensed), wasting everyone’s time, etc.
However, I am very satisfied if the motorist has a picture of their license. I can positively identify them that way. This is the case in 99% of the stops where the motorist left their wallet at home. I take a picture of a picture and settle back into my patrol car to do my business with that.
The issue with the picture of their license though is that some of the time, it’s a bad or dark picture and most of the time, it takes forever for them to locate the photo of their license buried within the thousands of other photos they have. Sucks when I’m standing outside their car and it’s 10* out lol.
With that said, I still think Apple should allow you to scan your license in the wallet app, even if it can’t be officially used in that particular state. It’s a nice bright and legible scan every time. Sure you may forget your wallet at home but rarely does some forget their phone at home. My Department just doesn’t have the equipment currently to make it official and I am not taking someone’s phone with me into my car. I have no business with it. I don’t even take it to take the picture. I kindly ask them to expand it and hold it out the window.