Senior Citizen Irked by Being Carded for Booze

WHAT COMMUTER INFO DO YOU WANT? This week is your last chance to weigh in on what you want to see on the electronic message boards, your smart phone, on nmroads.com and on the 511 roads phone line to make your commute easier.

A recent Road Warrior column had a list of possible information — from wrecks to delays on river crossings — and asked drivers to rank what they want to see, as well as where they want to see it. A form is online at ABQjournal.com (the link is www.abqjournal.com/main/road-warrior-form). You can also email your input to road@abqjournal.com. The information will be shared at a conference this week with the folks who put out the information and respond to traffic backups.

WHY ARE CLERKS CARDING SENIOR CITIZENS? That’s what Omar DeWitt wants to know.

He emails “I am 79. When I buy alcohol, I am asked to show my driver’s license. This is not to prove I am over 21 but to ‘prove you have a valid driver’s license. It’s a state law.’

“I find it improbable that the liquor department is checking for valid driver’s licenses. However, if it is true, where can I read this law? If it is a state law, it means I have to show that I have a valid license to buy a six-pack of beer but not to buy a $2,000 refrigerator that I will drive home in my pickup.

“If you could help me,” Omar writes, “I would appreciate it. If you cannot, could you possibly point me in the right direction?”

That direction is common sense, something often lacking in a litigious society.

This issue comes up every so often, and back in June 2011 readers expressed concerns similar to Omar’s. Here’s a recap of what was said then, under the headline “Booze Carding Really Is Just About Your Age.”

Michael asks via email “why should someone who is obviously old enough and not drunk be required to show an ID to a server? Is it a law that everyone must show proof of age to get a drink?”

No, but it is a good CYA — cover your assets — move.

According to the Regulation and Licensing Department, which enforces the law, carding IS all about age.

State statute 60-7B-5 refers to asking for proof of identification only to verify a purchaser is over the age of 21. “Any person licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Liquor Control Act or any employee, agent or lessee of that person shall refuse to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to any person who is unable to produce an identity card as evidence that he is 21 years of age or over.”

No shot of common sense required.

The state Regulation and Licensing Department’s own website goes into detail on “what are acceptable forms of identification?” and lists various federal and state ID cards with “a picture of the person and a birth date showing that they are over 21 years of age.”

Nothing about valid ID for the sake of valid ID, just valid ID to prove the purchaser is over the age of 21 and won’t cost a server a criminal citation or a business its liquor license.

Wendell Jones says via email “it still revolves around the ‘age-21′ issue. I first encountered ‘card-everyone’ practices while working in Atlanta a few years ago. I saw more than one unhappy customer having to show ID who was in his/her 50s who was very ANGRY. The bartenders told me that was … policy, and I soon discovered that other restaurants/bars in the area were following the same practice. … I say ‘card everyone.’ ”

And more than a year later, it appears that’s exactly what servers are still doing.

GET A FREE CAR-SEAT INSPECTION: Safer and the New Mexico Department of Transportation recently announced regular car-seat inspection clinics in seven cities across the state. Those are almost all by appointment only and include:

♦ Alamogordo, from 9 a.m. to noon the third Saturday of each month at Fire Station No. 7 on Oregon Avenue, call 575-439-4178.

♦ Albuquerque, from 8:30 to noon the second and fourth Friday of each month at AFD Station No. 20 on Corona NE, call 856-6143.

♦ Albuquerque, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. the third Thursday of each month at AFD Station No. 14 on Eucariz SW, call 856-6143.

♦ Albuquerque, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. the first Friday of each month at University of New Mexico Hospital and AFD Station No. 3 on Girard NE, call 272-6024.

♦ Gallup, from 10 a.m. to noon the fourth Saturday of each month at Fire Station No. 1 on Second Street, call 1-800-231-6145.

♦ Las Cruces, from 4 to 6 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month at the Sisbarro dealership on Boutz, call 1-800-231-6145; no appointment necessary.

♦ Raton, from 10 a.m. to noon the third Saturday of each month at the Raton Police Department on Savage Avenue, call 575-445-2704.

♦ Rio Rancho, from 10 a.m. to noon the first Friday of each month at Fire Station No. 1 on Southern, call 1-800-231-6145.

♦ Santa Fe, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the second and fourth Friday of each month at Fire Station No. 3 on Cerillos, call 505-471-3965 or 1-800-231-6145.

Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal