- NYC Council report links ghost cars to more unpaid fines and higher traffic violations.
- Nearly a third of surveyed non-NY plate vehicles had fake, mismatched, or missing tags.
- Officials call for more targeted enforcement and towing capacity to tackle the problem.
Across New York City, there is a growing population of so-called ‘ghost cars.’ These vehicles have out-of-state plates, obscured plates, or sometimes no plates at all. According to a city council investigation, they’re responsible for a disproportionate amount of dangerous driving, illegal parking, and unpaid fines.
Read: Over 30 Dealers Shut Down For Allegedly Printing Fraudulent Paper License Plates
Investigators catalogued over 3,500 parked cars across 50 square blocks in NYC. Among them, they found that almost 770 lacked New York plates. Of those, nearly a third had temporary plates, no plates, or plates that weren’t the ones associated with the vehicle itself.
Traffic Violations That Add Up
It also found that these ‘ghost cars’ owed roughly 2.5 times as much in terms of unpaid fines than vehicles with NY plates. Those violations consisted of speeding in school zones and blocking fire hydrants more than cars with NY plates, too.
“It’s one of these issues, kind of like smoke shops, that all New Yorkers have noticed these plates crop up, and then there wasn’t much enforcement, so they get away with it,” said Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side and chairs the Council’s investigations committee, to The Gothamist. “And now it’s exploded.”
A Growing Underground Market
The report also pointed out the growing black market for fraudulent registrations, expired government plates, and even replica tags. All of these tools help scofflaws and, at times, convicted criminals avoid detection. The city council believes it’s losing around $100 million every year in revenue tied to untraceable vehicles.
We’ve been covering this type of crime for years now. In January of 2024, authorities said that ghost plates helped drivers avoid $108 million in speeding fees.
“Speed cameras reduce speeding, prevent crashes, and save lives,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. “Unfortunately, a small but rapidly growing number of drivers are illegally obscuring their license plates in order to speed without getting caught. These scofflaws are putting their neighbors’ lives and safety at risk – and cheating the city out of $100 million a year.”
The Cat-and-Mouse Game
Efforts to address the problem are underway. Just last month, we told you about how efforts to crack down on these plates have garnered $12 million in revenue this year alone. It sounds like the NYPD and scofflaws are both ramping up their efforts to outdo the other side.
Photos MTA
