Black & White Driver's Licenses Would Be Step Backward in Preventing Youth Access to Tobacco, Alcohol

ALBANY, NY (11/15/2012)(readMedia)-- Switching from color to black-and-white New York State driver's licenses would hinder the ongoing efforts of retail stores to prevent underage sales of alcohol and tobacco, warns the New York Association of Convenience Stores.

It was reported earlier this week that the State had tentatively awarded a contract to a Canadian company to produce driver's licenses in black and white rather than color, as is current practice.

"The New York State driver's license is the most common form of ID presented to our stores to verify the age of a beer or tobacco customer," said NYACS President James Calvin. "We respect the cost and security factors influencing this procurement decision, but the public policy goal of preventing youth access to age-restricted products needs to be considered as well."

The process of examining someone's ID at the counter to verify their age includes visually matching the photo to the customer standing in front of you. "Not being able to discern hair color, for example, would make it harder for the cashier to determine if it's a match," said Calvin.

In addition, store clerks are trained not only to check the date of birth on the driver's license, in order to verify the person's age, but also to check the expiration date, which is always printed in red. By law, an expired license is not an acceptable form of ID for alcohol or tobacco purchases -- even if it indicates the person is of legal age.

"Even more significantly, New York driver's licenses issued to those age 20 or younger scream 'Under 21' in red along the right-hand side, and their date of birth is printed in red as well, which helps busy cashiers instantly spot an underage customer," said Calvin. "For years, key features of our state driver's licenses have been printed in red for a reason, and that reason still exists."

Through the diligence of state and local enforcement agencies, as well as voluntary efforts by retailers to train, supervise and provide the right tools to their employees, underage sales in New York State have been reduced. For example, the statewide percentage of stores caught selling tobacco to minors dropped from 13% in 2000 to 5.9% in 2010, according to the New York State Department of Health.

"To keep moving forward in fulfilling our commitment to prevent underage sales of beer and tobacco, the convenience store industry needs every tool at our disposal, including color driver's licenses," said Calvin. "We hope this decision will be revisited."

Headquartered in Albany, the New York Association of Convenience Stores is a private, not-for-profit trade organization representing neighborhood mini-marts and convenience stores statewide. It is a New York State-approved provider of certified tobacco and alcohol sales training for retail employees.