The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has backed away from a proposal that would have given it authority to use biometric identifiers – such as retinal scanning and automated fingerprint scanning – to provide positive identification of drivers in the Commercial Driver’s License Information System.

According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the administration is withdrawing the proposal because the Transportation Security Administration is already working on a similar system with its Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

“FMCSA does not want to cause a conflict in standards adopted by each agency or place an undue burden on states by imposing two different standards and/or technologies for CDLs and the TWIC,” the notice said.