Protect your Real ID info from hackers

CAN I REDACT PERSONAL INFO ON MY REAL ID DOCUMENTS? Beth T. asked that question before heading to renew her driver’s license under the new Real ID system, which requires one proof of identification number (usually a Social Security card/W-2/1099), one proof of ID (usually a passport or birth certificate) and two proofs of residency (usually insurance/ utility (no cellphone)/credit card bills or bank statements with home street address).

A full list of accepted documents is at ABQJournal.com and at mvd.newmexico.gov.

Beth’s concern is that because the 2005 Real ID act requires states to scan and keep digital copies for 10 years and paper copies for seven years, information including her tax ID number, bank balance and spending habits will be waiting for a hacker.

And so she asked if she could redact that information.

Ben Cloutier, director of communications for the state Taxation & Revenue Department (which oversees MVD), says that while Tax and Rev “employs the highest security standards to ensure customer privacy ... customers can redact any information that is not pertinent to what we are looking for — i.e. account balance, spending habits, etc.”

Beth says when she went to MVD last week, the clerk

double-checked, then allowed her to black out the nonpertinent information she was concerned about. RESIDENTS LOVE SKINNY

RIO GRANDE: After last week’s column included readers unhappy with the test project to slow traffic between Matthew and Griegos by re-striping the four-lane road into a two-lane road with a center turn lane, the other side has come out in force.

Gerald Romero emails, “I have lived on Rio Grande Boulevard north of Candelaria for 41 years . ... I see the re-striping as a huge success, with traffic moving much slower now. All the neighbors I know feel much safer walking and riding bikes along Rio Grande. We believe it’s even brought a different, positive feel to the neighborhood . ... Given the number of speed-

related crashes over the years, two right into my parents’ house next door, we feel the road diet keeps people at the posted speed limit of 35 mph when nothing else has worked. The re-striping works because as long as one person travels the speed limit, the folks behind have no choice but to travel at the same pace.”

Lee Gruger adds that “as a resident neighbor this could not be more welcomed. Rio Grande had become a raceway; it was never intended to be a fast thoroughfare from point A to point B.”

J. says the road “is much safer now than prior to re-striping. Traffic speeds are now just about at posted limits, whereas before users regularly exceeded speed limits. I have not observed any backups at all, and while I imagine some side traffic will need to wait for a break to get into the traffic stream, the overall effect is one of greater calm and safety (and) should be tried at other locations around town.”

Alan and Shari Reed point out, “This section of the road passes hundreds of driveways and intersecting streets. It was really dangerous to attempt to break in to two lanes of rush-hour traffic in which many speeders were unwilling to allow cars entering to capture a lane and accelerate without fear for their lives.”

Denise Wheeler says, “To me it is safer and easier to get out onto the boulevard . ... With less traffic (and) slower traffic people will begin riding their bikes and walking along Rio Grande. This is a neighborhood rather than a thoroughfare. As such I would ask everyone to be respectful as if it was your neighborhood.”

And commuter Alice Page says, “I support the re-striping even though — and perhaps because — it slows down traffic. I am the parent of a competitive cyclist, and the addition of a real bike lane, especially on this street, is important for the cycling community . ... My son’s former junior cycling teammate Nathan Barkocy was hit (last year) ... on a stretch of south Coors that has no real bike lane. Albuquerque has a lot of cyclists, both recreational and competitive, and it needs to support projects like this one to protect them from drivers.”

Finally, several of the readers suggested drivers unhappy with the so-called road diet try “alternate routes such as Fourth, Second and Edith.”