Drivers in New York cheat their way out of paying millions of dollars in local tolls each year, and with the launch of congestion pricing they have fresh motivation to get creative with toll dodging. But the city is advancing new rules officials say would make it easier to crackdown on scofflaw drivers who obscure their license plates to avoid toll readers and traffic cams.
The Department of Transportation on Tuesday proposed rules that seek to suppress drivers who turn their vehicles into so-called ghost cars. The proposed rules clarify existing regulations to more clearly establish visibility requirements for license plates, prohibiting anything — dirt, rust, plastic and other materials — that would distort or make a license plate unreadable.
“By expanding the definition of what is illegal, we will be able to hold reckless drivers accountable and create safer and more accessible streets for all,” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in Tuesday remarks.
Currently, parking with an obstructed license plate can lead to a $50 fine.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week began collecting new congestion tolls on drivers who enter south of 60th Street in Manhattan. But the authority runs the risk of missing out on toll revenue to scammers who alter or hide their plates.
Some drivers conceal all or part of their plates with screens, sprays and other devices, like magnets that mimic leaves or tech that flips a license plate when driving into a tolled area.
In 2022, the MTA estimated that it had missed out on $46 million in revenue at its bridges and tunnels due to toll evasion. That works out to about 2% of the $2.4 billion in MTA toll revenue for that year. On social media drivers are already sharing strategies, such as smearing bird feces on plates or devices that conceal plates at the press of a button, to try and avoid the new tolls.
“Bad guys are so tricky in everything they do,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a Tuesday press briefing. “There’s going to be an entire new industry on how to evade tolls. That’s just the ingenuity of mankind.”
The city will hold an online hearing on the proposed rules on February 6 at 10 a.m. to give the public an opportunity to provide feedback on the new rules.
Nick Garber contributed reporting.
