Approximately 8,200 residents of Michigan, in the United States, received driver's licenses or state identification cards with a serious printing error. Instead of the holder's secondary photograph, the cards displayed the image of a smiling man taken from a stock photo database. The documents also carried a generic birthdate: January 1, 1967.
The error was identified by the residents themselves who received the cards. Michelle Thomas, from Detroit, was one of those affected. She noticed the incorrect photograph when examining her new license and intended to use the document to cross on foot the newly inaugurated bridge between Detroit and Canada precisely on the day she would turn 36.
Upon noticing the problem, Michelle stated she was examining the license and seeing a random man in place of where her own photo should be, questioning what could happen. The case generated concern among those affected, since documents with incorrect information can cause problems in situations requiring identification, such as international travel.
