The moral of the story is: they don't convict for DWI in New York City.
No, the moral of the story is that a national ID using biometric data will be a nightmare that will destroy the lives of innocent people.
You should tell that to my friend. He was sleeping one off in his car. The engine was off. The keys were not in the ignition. NYPD cops come along in a car, wake him up, and tell him he can't stay there. He starts the car and leaves. They stop him, and bust him for DWI. Altogether, with lawyer fees and fines, it cost him about $3,000, IIRC.
When Guliani was mayor, he started confiscating cars for DWI.
It would have been interesting if the author had explained how he apparently beat two DWIs.