NYS law targets 'ghost plates' to crack down on toll evaders

An ongoing crackdown on toll evaders has the added weight of a new state law targeting "ghost plates," untraceable license plates the MTA says lead to nearly $50 million in annual losses.

The law, which went into effect Sunday, bans the sale or use of any glass or plastic material to obscure license plates and registrations, according to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. The law also makes it illegal to sell license plate covers.

"It is important that police officers accurately capture the license plate number at the time of violation," DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroder wrote in an Aug. 23 letter to law enforcement agencies about the law.

The MTA estimates annual losses of about $50 million in unpaid tolls because of ghost plates. The new law allows the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pursue persistent toll violators legally. In preparation last month, the authority sent out 500 notices of imminent judgment.

A police task force to catch toll evaders — comprising members of the MTA, NYPD and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — has completed more than 34 operations so far this year, with nearly 2,000 vehicles impounded, 438 arrests and nearly 17,000 tickets issued. Since the task force started in March, offenders have been responsible for nearly $14 million in unpaid tolls and judgments, according to the MTA. Authorities have held operations and checkpoints at bridges and tunnels.

New York City leaders have also gotten involved. Last week, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine announced a plan to crack down on ghost plates, including recommendations for the DMV to use next-generation digital license plate tags, training and equipping NYPD officers to spot fake or covered plates, increasing fines to $150 per offense and using the violation points system.

Fines under the new law, which amended existing traffic law, range from $100 to $500. Repeat offenders convicted at least three times within five years may have their registration suspended for 90 days or longer.

The MTA voted at its July meeting to reduce some fines to $50 to encourage violators to pay them. The MTA set fines at $50 at the Bronx-Whitestone, RFK-Triborough, Throgs Neck and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges, as well as the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Officials said lowering the fees would be offset by potentially recovering owed amounts and increasing enforcement.

"The proposed regulations continue to make it clear that owners have an opportunity to dispute their responsibility for toll violations ... and state that owners who persistently fail to pay their tolls and violations ... may have their vehicle registrations suspended by DMV," a July MTA resolution said.

As part of the new law, the MTA last month began mailing 500 notices of imminent judgment to vehicle owners who owed a total of $53 million in unpaid tolls and fines. 

Levine last week issued letters to Meta, TikTok and Craigslist urging the social media websites to ban sales of license plate covers. 

"More than 100,000 license plate images passing through DOT-operated cameras alone are unreadable every month. In total, there are hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets, fines, and tolls from enforcement cameras that go unpaid for such things as speeding, running red lights, and evading tolls every year," Levine said in his report. "This trend is growing and threatens New Yorkers’ safety. We must ensure that every vehicle has a readable and valid license plate."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.