New York City, MTA Starts Crackdown on Ghost Car Drivers and Toll Violators

By FrumNews.com 

The MTA, which controls New York’s tolled Bridges and Tunnels (MTA B&T) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD), along with regional law enforcement partners announced the results of a two-day interagency task force operation to remove ghost vehicles and crack down on persistent toll violators. 

During the interagency operation, officers seized 21 vehicles  at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and at the Throgs Neck Bridge, George Washington Bridge and Lincoln Tunnel for various violations, including unpaid tolls, unregistered vehicles, and suspended licenses. The scofflaws had amassed more than $586,000 in unpaid tolls and fees, judgments and debts. The operation resulted in 21 arrests and 793 summonses issued. 

“Amplified enforcement efforts have yielded big returns and hopefully sent a message to all scofflaws and aspiring scofflaws – if you try to skip out on the toll at any crossing in the metropolitan region, you will only end up paying more,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan. “I thank the diligent work of the Bridge and Tunnel officers as well as our regional law enforcement partners for ensuring all motorists pay their fair share.”

“Each member of our multiagency task force is fully committed to identifying every unsafe, unregistered ‘ghost’ vehicle in New York City,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “I commend our dedicated officers for their tireless efforts to hold all drivers accountable and to eradicate the sense of lawlessness that pervades our roadways.”

MTA Bridge and Tunnel officers seized 2,731 vehicles in 2023, a 46.6% increase from 2022. 3,000 summons were issued for covered or obstructed license plates since the beginning of the year. They issued 17,865 in 2023, an increase of 15% over 2022. 

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While catching these gang members, who are using fraudulent paper license plates, is good and commendable. The problem is generally the stem for most law-abiding citizens covering their plates is the City’s incessant need to bring driving to a halt with an even lower 20 MPH speed limit, charging drivers more with congestion pricing, and installing a never-ending amount of speed cameras on roads that by simply driving with the flow of traffic, gets the driver a speeding ticket. 

Many readers pointed out to FrumNews.com that there is an ongoing issue in Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Flatbush, at the outskirts of the communities in the vicinity of the NYCHA Housing Projects and Government Funded Public Housing. Lately, there has been an abundance of parked vehicles with counterfeit, fraudulent paper license plates, many of which happen to also be expired. As well as an increase of abandoned and derelict vehicles on the outer streets of the communities, some of the vehicles are suspected of being used for prior crimes. As of this writing, it is not known yet if the NYPD will address this local Brooklyn issue.