New Law Bans These on Your Vehicle in New York

A new law in New York is banning drivers from having these on their vehicles.

It is now illegal to sell license plate covers in the state. Penalties for those convicted of obscuring a license plate to avoid detection or toll collection are also increasing.

The new sections of the law took effect on September 1. It's all part of ongoing efforts to crack down on “ghost” plates and “ghost” cars using fake or altered plates to avoid paying tolls.

“These changes to the law are meant to make sure that everyone who makes use of public infrastructure is paying their fair share to use them,” Governor Kathy Hochul said.

Photo Credit - Thruway Authority.gov

Increased Penalties

Fines for covering a license plate with a glass or plastic covering, or anything else that distorts a photographic image of the plate taken by traffic cameras or electronic toll readers is going up.

Anyone convicted of purposely obscuring their plate will have to surrender the cover. Repeat offenders with three or more convictions within five years will now face a 90-day suspension of their vehicle registration.

Ghost Plate Crack Down

Selling covers designed to look like a lawful license plate is now illegal under the new law as well.

More than 450 arrests have been made since the crack down on ghost plates began in March. Nearly 18,500 summonses and more than 2,100 vehicle have been seizures for unpaid tolls, totaling more than $19 million.