A survey of over 3,500 vehicles with out-of-state plates found higher rates of traffic violations among vehicles with mismatched or ghost plates. Vehicles with mismatched plates accrued 49 percent more school-zone speeding camera violations and 74 percent more tickets for blocking fire hydrants than vehicles with matched plates. Nearly one-fifth of 768 observed non-New York-plated vehicles displayed license plates that were not registered to the vehicles. Vehicles identified with ghost plates in the survey owed more than $80,000 in fines, with the citywide total likely much larger. The illegal market for fake temporary plates grew rapidly, prompting several states to tighten dealer rules after a major 2023 investigation. Persistent use of ghost plates enables evasion of responsibility for violations and fines and correlates with riskier driving behavior that jeopardizes public safety.
Ghost cars - or cars with fake, obscured, or mismatched license plates - continue to wreak havoc on city streets despite years of increased enforcement, and are more likely to violate New York City traffic laws than their law abiding counterparts, according to a new report out of the City Council. Investigators at Council's Oversight and Investigations Division studied the traffic records of out-of-state ghost vehicles they observed parked across the city.
Vehicles in the survey with mismatched plates accrued 49 percent more camera violations for speeding in school zones and 74 percent more tickets for blocking a fire hydrant than cars with matched plates, the reported released on Thursday said. Council staff looked at over 3,500 vehicles parked on city streets with out-of-state plates, specifically in areas with a high level of out of state cars.
Nearly one-fifth of the 768 non-New York-plated vehicles they observed displayed license plates that were not registered to the vehicles. "The use of ghost plates, especially those from out of state, to evade responsibility for violations and fines has become too commonplace throughout our city," Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement. "The Council's investigation into this systemic problem underscores the need for more coordinated enforcement and policies to ensure bad actors who are more likely to commit traffic violations that jeopardize our public safety are held accountable for their actions."
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