A new analysis reveals that New York City is losing a whopping $200 million annually to drivers using “ghost” license plates. These scofflaws are exploiting a growing online market for high-tech devices and low-tech tricks to make their plates unreadable to the city’s vast network of cameras.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who led the study, reports that over 5% of vehicles passing by city cameras now have unreadable plates. These ghost plates allow drivers to speed through school zones, run red lights, and evade tolls without consequence.
“You better believe it influences behavior when people know their plate is unreadable,” Levine told The Post. The problem has exploded since New York increased its use of traffic cameras, inadvertently inspiring dishonest motorists to find new ways to dodge fines.
The issue goes beyond lost revenue. Tashi Tsering, a local parent, expressed concern about hit-and-run drivers using ghost plates to escape identification. “The cameras alone are not doing the job,” he said.
Levine proposes several solutions, including radio-frequency identification tags for registration stickers and AI tools to match obscured plates to registered vehicles. He also suggests increasing minimum fines to $150 per offense and cracking down on online sales of plate-obscuring devices.
City officials are taking action. A recent NYPD and MTA operation caught 200 offenders, demonstrating the scale of the problem. As New York battles this high-tech menace, it must navigate the delicate balance between enforcement and privacy concerns.
