[cbhl]

For land/sea crossings between Canada and the US, there exists such a thing -- it's known as an Enhanced Drivers License and contains a barcode and RFID chip in it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Drivers_License

But the Federal government can't mandate having these machine-readable identifiers on the State-issued drivers licenses, so we're stuck with Passport Cards and Passport Books in addition to the EDL.

[roywiggins]

They can mandate a lot, or at least bully- the REAL ID act has gotten most states onboard by threatening to not accept noncompliant State IDs for plane travel.