This is an issue that rarely crosses the minds of most drivers in New York City or anywhere else. The unauthorized sale of temporary license plate tags (“temporary tags”) and their subsequent illegal use in hit-and-run accidents and shootings. and robbery.
In a recently published detailed study, Streets Blog USAFounded in 2006, this daily news site features solutions to “end America’s dependence on automobiles.” A series called “Ghost Tag” It claims to show you “inside New York City’s black market for temporary license plates.”
The reports are tied to the fraudulent sale of temporary license plates by used car dealers in New Jersey and other states, and drivers avoiding liability in numerous violations and, in some cases, fatalities. One such finding looked at a hit-and-run incident in Queens, New York last year. In the incident, a 5-year-old boy was run over by a driver with a suspended license and a fake New Jersey temp tag. “Temps from New Jersey are among the most common on New York City streets, as are tags from Georgia and Texas,” the report said.
StreetsBlog takes note of the deals of several so-called “car dealers” who illegally sell temporary tags for between $100 and $200 each. As one of his particularly startling examples, the report cites his one at the F&J Automall in Bridgeton, New Jersey. F&J said in 2021 he will issue 36,000 temporary license plates. That’s more than any other dealership in the state combined with his Carvana and CarMax used car juggernauts. F&J’s potential profit is in the millions, but the agency closed by the auto division has him fined $500.
Fake temporary tags can lead to more serious consequences, but there’s a bottom line involved. We lose about $11 million a year in unclaimable tolls. “When traffic tickets, sales taxes, registration fees, and other tolls go unpaid due to fake paper tags, the total cost to New York could run into the tens of millions, if not more. ‘ said the report. “And when New York introduces congestion tolls next year, with toll booth cameras set to surround lower Manhattan, the demand for fake temps will only grow, and as long as regulations are lax, there will be no bad intentions. It’s a market that one auto dealer is keen to serve.”
“There are so many loopholes in the system that you can’t really stop it,” said Abdul Cummings, a used-car dealer in Jersey City who saw demand for temporary tags explode during the pandemic. “The system allows it.”
There are more detailed data, some of which are worrisome, but have not yet been found. here.
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