"Toll-dodging drivers rip off the MTA (and their fellow New Yorkers) to the tune of $50 million a year money that could be invested into modernizing our bridges and tunnels and the entire transit system. We're not letting that stand. Two years ago this month, we launched a multi-agency task force with 12 law enforcement partners including the NYPD, NYS Police, and NYC Sheriff's Office."
"The bill currently working its way through the Legislature, which I'll point out has bipartisan support, would deliver tools we need to more forcefully address the two most common forms of toll evasion: drivers who purposely cover or obscure their license plates and those who receive their bills but refuse to pay, otherwise known as Persistent Toll Violators (PTVs)."
"The sections of the bill targeting use of so-called ghost plates would allow police to confiscate illegal plate coverings on the spot and add points to the scofflaw's driving record after three convictions for obscuring a license plate within five years. This is also important for safety reasons. According to the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, many of the City's worst super-speeders use ghost plates to repeatedly evade cameras and drive dangerously with impunity."
Toll evasion costs the MTA approximately $50 million yearly, diverting funds from transit infrastructure improvements. A multi-agency task force established two years ago has recovered over $60 million in unpaid tolls and towed 6,000 vehicles across 124 enforcement operations. Proposed bipartisan legislation addresses the two primary evasion methods: drivers obscuring license plates and persistent toll violators who ignore bills. The bill authorizes police to confiscate illegal plate coverings immediately and add driving record points after three convictions within five years. Ghost plates also pose safety risks, as dangerous speeders use them to evade cameras repeatedly. Additional provisions grant MTA enforcement officers judgment authority, reclassify toll evasion as a Class A misdemeanor theft of service charge, and implement further penalties against persistent violators.
#toll-evasion-enforcement #mta-revenue-recovery #ghost-plates-and-license-plate-obscuring #transportation-safety #legislative-reform
Read at www.amny.com
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