If You Drive a ‘Ghost Car’ New York Promises to Hunt You Down

While New York continues to put up more speeding cameras, the state has announced that it's cracking down on "ghost cars".

We told you earlier this week that new radar cameras have been placed on I-84 and I-684 in an attempt to catch unsuspecting speeders. Now, the state is going after a completely different type of rulebreaker.

Many New Yorkers are Driving "Ghost Cars"

Because of the new automated traffic ticketing system and the elimination of toll booths on New York State bridges and roads, some drivers have decided to go off the grid.

When we announced that new radar cameras would be placed on I-84 and I-64, many people responded with plans to alter their license plates so that the state would not be able to identify them without their knowledge. Governor Hochul is looking to stop this practice and has formed a task force that will hunt down and remove these "ghost cars" from the roads.

"Ghost Car" Crackdown Already Captures Hundreds of Drivers

This week, Governor Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference to announce that several state agencies have joined together to successfully identify hundreds of drivers with altered or forged license plates.

The MTA, New York State Police, NYPD and several other agencies have already issued over 280 summonses, impounded 73 cars and made eight arrests. While the effort has been mainly focused on New York City, drivers from all over the state have been warned that the task force is coming for them.

Proposed Legislation Increases Punishment for New York Drivers

Governor Hochul would like to increase fines for ghost car drivers and make license plate covers that can interfere with toll collection illegal. A proposed law would allow the DMV to deny registrations to vehicles that have been caught evading tolls and make it illegal to sell certain types of license plate covers in New York.