The NYPD has issued a massive number of tickets to drivers who cover their license plates or use fake ones to bypass tolls and speed cameras. 

To combat this “ghost car” phenomenon, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have announced a multi-agency City-State Task Force that aims to identify more ghost cars and ultimately remove them from New York City roads. 

The name “ghost cars” is given to drivers who deliberately cover their license plates, either with fakes, shields or forged temporary paper ones, to remain undetectable to traffic cameras, toll readers and ticket handlers. 

They are also used to cover up stolen vehicles and obscure their own identity from crimes these drivers have already committed or are planning to commit. 

Unfortunately, it is said to be fairly simple to acquire a fake or forged license plate, making the occurrence of seeing them so uncontrolled and troubling for the NYPD. Some drivers take to custom plates or plate shields to obscure their tags, using things such as surgical masks or paint.

But the “fake temporary” out-of-state license plates can be bought online for just around $15, making them widely useable and easy to find. 

The surge in toll-dodging drivers in tandem with the rise in “ghost cars” not only projects the rise in unsolved violent crimes and road accidents, but also impacts citizens with no connection to the problem. 

Reportedly, “ghost cars” cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $50 million in revenue, which stunts the progression of improving NYC’s transit system and results in the rise in the price of tickets for the MTA to meet its congestion pricing goals. 

On the condition that someone is caught with these forged license plates, the plate and vehicle will be seized and towed by the NYPD and taken to the tow pound where one would have to pay a declared amount to acquire it back. They would also be written a fine for having the car with the forged license plate parked on city streets and driven on the road. If said vehicle were caught in the act of toll-dodging, the driver would have to pay the money they attempted to dodge. 

The NYPD, MTA, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the NYSP have created a multiagency task force whose main priority is to recognize and remove ghost cars from roadways. 

“Outlaws have been purchasing fake or paper license plates online to avoid tolls and tickets, as well as to evade accountability for serious crimes, but we’re pumping the brakes on the use of ‘ghost plates’ with the help of this multi-agency task force,” Adams said, in a public safety announcement on March 12. 

So far, the appointed task force has successfully impounded 73 vehicles, issued 282 summonses and made a total of eight arrests. The task force stated that it doesn’t plan on stopping and that no one is above the law.