There are round eleven million light-duty automobiles registered in New York state, lots of which have faux or altered license plates to keep away from tolls on highways and bridges, that are paid via E-ZPass or by mail, by photographing license plates and sending the registered proprietor a invoice. If one’s license plate is faux or altered, one could possibly keep away from the toll, like an asshole I golfed with on Staten Island as soon as, who mentioned that he was upset that he forgot to connect his faux plate to his motorbike earlier than crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge that day, and now he’d be on the hook for the toll, which is $6.55.
Now, in a lot of America, a visitors infraction like having a faux license plate can be greater than sufficient cause for native regulation enforcement to tug you over and examine every little thing else you is likely to be doing illegally in your automotive, which I do know from watching COPS and likewise dwelling for many years within the state of Ohio. This isn’t fairly the case in New York state, together with New York Metropolis, maybe as a result of regulation enforcement themselves are a number of the offenders.
It is a state of affairs that makes a sure sort of city activist extraordinarily mad, as a result of dishonest is lame and life ought to be honest, although it isn’t. In no less than lip service to such people, often one thing very unhealthy will occur, and the authorities will announce a crackdown on faux plates. One other such crackdown was introduced on Tuesday. There was no apparent precipitating occasion aside from that some folks needed to get up not too long ago and try to do their jobs.
In accordance with the press launch from the New York Division of Motor Automobiles, this newest crackdown has been within the works for months and concerned a number of authorities businesses. The grand outcomes of the large crackdown:
Since January, the hassle has resulted in 420 citations, embody 92 plate violations, 66 visitors tickets, 36 towed automobiles, 29 improper registrations, 26 plates seized, 23 uninspected automobiles, 20 unregistered automobiles and 11 fraudulent non permanent registrations.
If I’m doing my math accurately, that’s round 52 citations per authorities company over greater than 4 months, or apparently fewer than a single parking ticket man can difficulty in a day. Stellar work by all concerned, in different phrases. Like different crackdowns, this one was accompanied by varied quotes from New York public officers, together with the heads of the DMV, the New York State Police, the New York Police Division, the New York Metropolis Sheriff’s Workplace, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the Albany County Sheriff’s Workplace, and the Utica police.
In all probability the saddest, although, was from the Commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Fee, which reads:
“I’m extraordinarily pleased with the TLC officers and our fellow regulation enforcement companions who’ve been collaborating on this necessary marketing campaign,” mentioned TLC Commissioner David Do. “It has been an honor to work with the State DMV to make our roadways safer. Lots of the people utilizing faux plates shouldn’t be driving within the first place, and so they use this ploy to avoid our legal guidelines and get onto our roads, the place they enhance the hazard and the associated fee for everybody else. These ongoing operations are efficiently taking the unhealthy actors off the board, growing the security for all.”
Taking unhealthy actors off the board, imposing the legal guidelines on the books, and bettering visitors security do sound like nice concepts! If solely we had one or eight authorities businesses right here in New York to do this. This time subsequent yr maybe dozens extra citations may be issued.